Hidden Identity
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: After being forced into helping Trent Kort, an agent's secrets start to come out, as well as his connection to another member of NCIS that only one of them knows about. Will the team be able to look past this agents many secrets and will he even live long enough for them to confront him about it?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Hidden Identity**

**A/N: In this story, Tim's sister, Sarah, was killed as a child, so the episode featuring her didn't happen. The story takes place in early season five**

Tim was at his desk getting ready for the day. He'd just gotten there and was now powering up his computer. He was the first one there, aside from Gibbs. Gibbs' coffee was laid on his desk, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Soon, Ziva made her way through the bullpen and towards her desk. "Good morning, McGee."

"Morning, Ziva," Tim greeted.

"Tony is not in yet?" Ziva asked as she sat down.

Tim smiled. "No, you're earlier than him for once. You can enjoy a few moments of peace."

Ziva chuckled and started up her computer. "I assume we are doing cold cases again today."

"Unless we get a case, probably," Tim said

"Morning, Ziva and Probie!" the chipper voice of Tony rang out as he joined.

"Crap. He's happy," Tim said quietly. Tony being happy never boded well for him. Being happy just meant the man was in the mood to pull pranks, usually on Tim.

"Why are you so happy, Tony?" Ziva asked.

"Because, Ziva, I have a date tonight. I've been trying to get this girl in my building to go out with me for a while and always turned me down. Finally, she agreed," Tony said with a smile.

"You are rejoicing because you annoyed a woman into going out with you?" Ziva asked.

Tim snickered.

"Hey, shut up over there, Probie. And I did not annoy her into it," Tony said as he sat down at his desk.

"It sounds like that is exactly what you did," Ziva said.

"Okay, I'm not gonna let the two you ruin my mood," Tony said.

Ziva was about to say something else when she noticed a familiar face headed towards them. "He might be able to ruin your mood."

Both Tony and Tim turned to see Trent Kort coming their way. "What the hell does he want?" Tony asked. Nothing good came from Kort's presence. The last time he'd seen Kort, his car had just been blown up.

"Good question," Tim said.

"Hey, Kort, I think you're in the wrong building. Now I understand if reading isn't your strong suit, so I'll give you a hint. CIA has three letters, not four," Tony mocked.

"Cute, DiNozzo," Kort said as he walked passed him.

The three agents watched Kort intently. They expected that he was probably going up to the director's office, but instead, he stopped at Tim's desk.

"You need to come with me," Kort said.

"Excuse me?" Tim asked surprised. What would Kort want with him. Kort never bothered with him. Like most others, he didn't seem to think much of Tim, so what did he want with him now.

"You may be the most under qualified agent here, but I do believe you understand the English language. Let's go," Kort ordered.

"Like hell! He's not going anywhere with you," Tony said before jumping up from his seat.

Kort ignored him and looked at Tim. "Now, Agent McGee."

"I don't know what you want, but Tony's right, I'm not going anywhere," Tim said firmly. He didn't trust Kort one bit. He was not about to go God only knew where with him until he at least knew why.

Kort bent down and whispered something very low so that only Tim could hear.

The words had their desired effect. Tim stiffened and became extremely quiet. He looked shocked and also quite nervous. After a minute, he stood up and grabbed his jacket.

"Whoa, McGee, what are you doing?" Tony asked.

"You cannot go with him, McGee. You cannot trust him," Ziva said.

"I don't trust him, Ziva, but I don't have a choice," Tim said as he followed Kort towards the elevator. Kort had made it perfect clear that he knew everything there was to know about him and he would reveal it if he didn't do exactly what he wanted. This was information he couldn't have getting out. It would change things forever.

Tony and Ziva got up and followed Tony grabbed Tim by the elevator just as he reached the elevator. "No, you're not doing this! I don't know what he said to get you to agree, but you're not going with this bastard."

"This is CIA business, DiNozzo. Stay out of it," Kort said with a smirk on his face. He clearly enjoyed pissing people off.

"Do not do this, McGee. We will go to the director and she will stop it and find out what's going on," Ziva said.

"If that's how you want to handle it, fine, McGee. I'm sure she will have plenty to say once I've had mine," Kort whispered into Tim's hear.

"The director can't help," Tim said before pulling his arm away from Tony and following Kort into the elevator.

Tony and Ziva watched in horror as the doors closed and their partner left with Trent Kort. Tony then turned to Ziva. "We have to talk to the Director. Maybe she can stop them before they leave the building!" Tony said before running through the bullpen towards the stairs.

Ziva immediately followed. "What do you think this is about?"

"I don't know, but if Kort's involved, it's not good," Tony said as they ran up the stairs and into the main office by the director's office. They completely bypassed Director Shepard's secretary and into her office without knocking. As luck would have it, they found both the director and Gibbs in there.

Jenny did not look pleased with the interruption. "Agent DiNozzo, Officer David, I have a door for a reason and it's not so you can enter whenever you feel like it."

"I'm sorry, Director, but it's important," Tony said.

Gibbs stood up from his seat. "What the hell's going on?"

"Trent Kort just came through and he took McGee?" Tony said.

"What do you mean he took McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"He demanded McGee go with him. McGee refused at first, but then he said something to him, something we couldn't hear. It freaked McGee out and then he agreed to go," Tony explained quickly.

"It was clearly a threat. McGee looked very anxious and he said he did not have a choice. He did not want to go," Ziva added.

Jenny immediately picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Yes, this is Director Shepard. Agent McGee is on his way out with Trent Kort. Do not let them leave!

"Did Kort say what he wanted?" Gibbs asked.

"No. He just demanded that McGee go with him. I don't get why he would go. Why didn't he trust that we could stop Kort?" Tony asked.

Jenny hung up the phone and stood up. "Security will try to stop them, but knowing Kort, if he's not already out, he'll find another way. Let's see if we can't stop them ourselves."

Tony nodded and led the way out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Less than a half an hour later, Gibbs was waiting impatiently in Jenny's office while she spoke with the CIA. They'd searched the whole building and Kort and McGee were gone. Trent Kort had somehow managed to get his agent out of the building using some sort of force and that pissed Gibbs apart. He was going to tear Kort apart, as well as find out exactly what was going on with McGee.

Jenny was also extremely irritated as she got the runaround from the director of the CIA. "I want to know why Trent Kort smuggled my agent out of NCIS without my authority. Classified my ass! You know what I think? I think you don't know why your man did this and you're covering for him!"

Gibbs certainly wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Kort was as shady as they came and he never followed the rules. He would go behind the Agency's back in a heartbeat. Gibbs wondered why.

"No, Director, I will stay out of Agency affairs because you people have involved one of my people! Here's what's going to happen. You have exactly two hours to either get Agent McGee back into this building or give me a reasonable explanation for his absence. If you don't, I will hold a press conference and tell every reporter there that the CIA has kidnapped an NCIS agent!" Jenny warned.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at the tactic. Jenny was playing hardball. Not that he was complaining. He wanted McGee back and he didn't care how it was done.

"Don't underestimate me! I have witnesses that state that Kort threatened Agent McGee. The public will have no trouble believing me. Do as I've said or watch your agency fall apart!" Jenny said irritably before hanging up.

"What did he say?" Gibbs asked. He got the gist of it, but he wanted to know exactly what the man said.

"Well, he claimed Classified, which is a croc. I think Kort is working solo, at least where McGee is concerned. I don't know if there is a genuine mission involved, but I don't think they knew about McGee. Anyway, then he told me to stay out of it," Jenny said.

"And that's when you threatened him."

"It wasn't a threat, Jethro. I will follow through. I am damn sick of Kort interfering with this agency. I'm not about to let him get away with intimidating one of ours out of this building," Jenny said firmly.

Gibbs shook his head. "What the hell was McGee thinking by going with that bastard?"

"You have any idea what Kort might have said to get him to go?" Jenny asked.

"If I knew that, It wouldn't have happened," Gibbs said. If he'd known whatever it was McGee was hiding, it was unlikely that Kort would've been able to use it to coerce him out of the building with it. It wouldn't be a secret for him to reveal anymore. "I will find out when he gets back here, right after I tear Kort apart."

"Go down and have your team do everything they can to find them. I'll keep you informed with the CIA," Jenny said.

Gibbs wordlessly left the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was sitting in the car next to Kort and silence. He was very nervous about whatever this was about and kind of irritated by Kort forcing him into this. He hated helplessness and that's what he felt right now. He couldn't do anything to get out from underneath Kort and that made him feel cornered and angry.

Kort looked over at the man next to him and smiled.

Tim wat getting annoyed. That was the third time Kort had glanced at him with that smug grin. "What?"

"I was just thinking how genes must skip a generation. When I found out who you really were, I laughed. You are so unlike your family. I didn't know most of them, but from what I read up on, your father was the no prisoners type of person. He took names and made a name for himself in the CIA, much like his own father. Who would think that his son would be so cowardly and easy to intimidate," Kort said.

"You ever bring my father up to me again, you'll find out just how much my father's son I am," Tim said in a steel tone. Kort could mock his character all he wanted, but he wouldn't tolerate talk of his father, not from this man. Kort wasn't worthy enough to even mention him in passing.

Kort raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Well, maybe you do have some of their traits. You almost sounded intimidating for a moment. I wonder if certain things hadn't happened if you would be different. Maybe what happened to you and to your family is why you're so pathetic."

"Shut up, Kort! You have no right bringing things like that up to me!" Tim said angrily. Kort was beginning to get under his skin. What happened to him and his family when he was young was with him every day. It changed him forever. He didn't need Kort reminding him of it all.

"You know, it works in my favor that you don't want anyone to know, but why? Why not tell her the truth?" Kort asked.

"Don't mention her either! The topic of my family is off limits to you. What is is that you even want?" Tim asked. He wanted to know why he was being blackmailed in the first place. What did Kort want from him?

Kort didn't say anything for a few moments, seemingly trying to make Tim stew for a bit. "There is a terrorist group attempting to access information from our systems to use it to attack us. We know who some of them are, due to an informant, but not all of them and we don't know how wide it goes. We need your help with that."

"If that's all you wanted, why didn't you just go through the right channels to get my help instead of blackmailing me?" Tim asked annoyed. This seemed mostly legit, so he didn't understand why Kort didn't just play by the rules for once?

"Because after learning who my informant was, Director Shepard never would've agreed to it. You wouldn't have either. Besides, you should be grateful I went this route. She would've discovered the truth if I'd gone about it the other way," Kort said.

"Why? Who's this informant?" Tim asked curiously.

"You'll find out soon," Kort said with a smirk. It was going to be very interesting when McGee learned who his informant was. The younger man was going to be livid.


	3. Chapter 3

The team was in the bullpen trying to figure out where Kort and McGee had gone to, but so far they both had nothing. "I managed to do that cell phone tracking thing like McGee does, Boss, but his GPS isn't on. He must have shut it off," Tony said.

"More like Kort took his phone and shut it off for him so we could not track it," Ziva said.

"You put out a BOLO on Kort's car?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, but he would likely anticipate that as well and figure out a way to avoid it. Plus, the CIA will likely find a way to put a stop to it," Ziva said.

"She has a point. The CIA will try to protect Kort. Well, they'll wanna protect themselves by covering up for Kort," Tony said.

"I wanna know what the hell Kort's up to. Track him and find out what's been doing and where he's been lately," Gibbs said.

"Boss, that would entail geek work and we both know I'm no good at that," Tony said.

Gibbs glared at him. "Then get help from Abby. Just get the damn information, DiNozzo!"

"Yes, Boss," Tony said before heading towards the elevator.

"Ziva, I want you to work on the McGee angle. I wanna know what he's hiding. When we find him, I need to be able to get him out from underneath Kort's thumb," Gibbs said.

"Where would I even begin. We know next to nothing about McGee's past, except that he was a Navy brat," Ziva said. McGee never spoke to them about his past. He'd mentioned his parents once or twice in passing, but it was never much. Now that she thought about it, he never even mentioned going to visit them.

"Start there then. Find out about his family. One of them must know what's going on," Gibbs said. Then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a man in a suit heading from the elevator up to the director's office. He immediately followed. He walked up the stairs and towards Jenny's office. He of course bypassed her secretary and walked inside.

"Jethro, I see you couldn't wait for me to call you, not that I'm surprised. Special Agent Gibbs, meet Peter Green with the CIA," Jenny introduced.

"NIce to meet you," Green said as he offered his hand.

Gibbs didn't make a move to shake his hand. "Where the hell is my agent?"

Green removed his hand after a moment. "I guess you wanna get right to the point."

"I would as well. Now I'm assuming you're herr Mr. Green because your director knew I wouldn't like what you people had to say and he didn't wanna be the one to deliver the news," Jenny said. She knew a cowardly move when she saw it. Sending a lackey was such a move.

"It's complicated, Ma'am," Green said.

"I don't find it complicated at all. One of your coworkers came into this building and intimidated one of my people out of it and I want know why. If you don't give me an explanation now, I will make my promise to your director a reality," Jenny warned.

Green sighed. "It was never our intention to use Agent McGee. Kort mentioned it, but the director said that using an NCIS agent in this investigation was out of the question. he said you wouldn't agree and he wouldn't dare to even ask. Kort obviously went behind his back."

Jenny decided to set aside her questions about why the director of the CIA was so sure she wouldn't agree for the moment. She wanted to know exactly what McGee was being used for first. "You still haven't answered my question. Why was my agent taken out of this building without my authority? What is is that Kort wants with him?"

"And where the hell is he now?" Gibbs demanded as well.

"I don't know where they are now. We checked the location of our informant, but Kort must have moved him in anticipation. As to why, well, a couple of months ago, we started noticing infiltrations in our systems. We didn't think it would be a big deal at first. We've had people try to hack in before. A lot of it turns out to be your run of the mill hackers, but it quickly became clear that this was bigger. Soon we found out that terrorists were involved, thus creating a severe breach to National Security," Green explained.

"And you want McGee to help you find out who and where they are," Gibbs summed up.

"Sort of. We have an informant working undercover and he has some names, as he's worked with them before, but we still don't know a lot. Kort thought McGee could trace them the next time they tried to get in and find out more information," he said.

Now Jenny would ask the question. "Why would you assume I wouldn't agree to help?"

Green cringed in anticipation to the NCIS director's inevitable reaction. "Director Shepard, you have to understand that the CIA isn't like NCIS. We can't always put the bad guys away. Sometimes we're forced to work with them to bring down worse people."

"Get to the point. Who is this person?" Jenny asked irritably.

"Sebastian Acosta."

The room was so silent for several seconds that you would hear a pin drop. Then Jenny spoke in a quiet and frighteningly low voice. "What?"

Gibbs frowned at Jenny. He could tell she was livid. No, more than livid. She was seeing red. He didn't know who this guy was, but Jenny obviously did and the thought of him had her murderous. He could only imagine what Acosta had done.

"Director, I'm sorry…"

"You managed to catch up to that SOB and he's not in a maximum security prison or a morgue?!" Jenny exploded.

"It's like I said, this terrorist group was more important," Green said.

"More important? Sebastian Acosta is one of the worst men to ever exist! The man is a sadist! He killed one of yours and you have defected with him?!" Jenny asked angrily. She was ready to kill someone, and since Acosta wasn't within her grasps, she would take one of the people who were letting him walk. This man, if you could even call him that, was a predator. He was not the kind of person you made deals with.

Gibbs continued to watch Jenny. He could tell that whatever this was about was personal for her. She was so angry. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her with this level of rage before. What had this son of a bitch done to get her to this point.

"We're talking about terrorists here, Director," Green said.

"And you don't think Sebastian Acosta is a terrorist? You don't think a man who tortures and kills entire families, including innocent children, is a terrorist?!" Jenny asked furiously. She tried to keep the emotion from her voice, but it was difficult. This was very personal for her and keeping any amount of professionalism was almost impossible.

Green went to speak again and then thought better of it.

"You get my agent the hell out of this! You will not sacrifice one of my people to this bastard!" Jenny said firmly. She knew what Acosta would do to McGee and anyone else that interfered in whatever his goal was. She wasn't going to let that happen.

"Kort's gone off the radar. There's nothing I can do to…"

"You either do something or I will go to the press and expose all of you for what you are!" Jenny yelled.

"You can't do that," he protested.

"Watch me! Now get the hell out!" Jenny ordered.

Green sighed and headed out of the room.

"What the hell's going on, Jen. Who is this guy?" Gibbs asked.

"He's a monster in a human being's clothing. He belongs in the damned ground! I need you to get out of my office right now, Jethro," Jenny said. She was very close to going off the handle and she didn't wanna do it with anyone around.

Usually Gibbs would refuse and demand more information, but he could tell this situation had Jenny more angry than she'd ever been and ready to lose it, so he did what she asked and left.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim followed Kort into an apartment building. They had been driving for almost two hours before they finally got to where they were going, much to Tim's charin. Spending two hours in a car with Kort was not exactly fun for him, especially since the man couldn't help but gloat about having him under his control.

"Brace yourself, kid. This will be a shock to you and not a welcome one," Kort said as they approached a door with a guard on the outside.

"It can't be anymore unwelcome than you threatening me to get me to come with you," Tim said.

"You'd be surprised," Kort said as he opened the door.

Tim followed Kort inside. He stopped dead in his tracks two feet into the apartment. Standing a few feet away was the face of the man that still and always would frequent his nightmares. The man who tortured him and murdered his parents and his sister.


	4. Chapter 4

Tim could barely move for several moments as he stared that the man who destroyed his life. The memories came flooding back. Not that they ever really went anywhere in the first place. He never forgot one moment of that horror. He never forgot hearing his parents scream as this man tortured and killed them in front of him. He didn't forget watching the murder of his sister, which was at least much more merciful. And he certainly didn't forget the torture he endured at Sebastian Acosta's hands.

Tim shuddered at the memories of what this man had done to him and his family. He'd spent years after finally escaping him scared to death of him finding and tormenting him once more. But that had all happened when he was a kid. He was not a kid anymore. Not that he was deluded into thinking this man wasn't a danger to an adult. His parents were proof that he was. But now Acosta was alone and unless Kort was a complete idiot, unarmed. Tim was not unarmed. He could shoot the son of bitch right here.

Acosta sent Tim a smirk, telling him that he knew exactly who he was, probably informed by Kort. "It's good to see you again. You're looking much better since the last time we met. I see that you remember me."

White hot anger shot through Tim as Acosta spoke and he was once more confronted with flashbacks of the night that would forever plaque him. He replayed over and over how this man had murdered his family. Before he knew it, he was reaching for his gun.

Kort acted quickly. He couldn't deny his surprise when the young agent reached for his weapon. McGee was by far the most benevolent and frankly naive against he'd ever met. Even with their history, Kort didn't expect him to pull his gun on Acosta. But he adjusted to it quickly and managed to disarm McGee seconds after he'd taken his gun out. He then grabbed by the front of his jacket and pulled him out into the hall.

Tim fought hard against Kort, especially when he heard Acosta begin laughing at him. "Get off of me! I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch!"

Kort pinned McGee against the wall. "Get it together, McGee.

"Screw you, Kort! How dare you? How can you even ask me to work with that SOB?! No, actually, how can you work with him?! He's a freaking sociopath! He gets off on torture and murder!" Tim screamed.

Kort shrugged. "You do what you have to. The information he has on this and several other matters is worth bartering for."

"No, it's not! He's a killer! God, what is it with you people? First La Grenouille and now this son of a bitch?! What is wrong with you?!" Tim asked angrily as he struggled against Kort.

Kort laughed mockingly. "Your naivety never ceases to amaze me. You all at NCIS seem to have this delusion of putting all the bad guys away. Well, it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you have to pick the greater evil. A man like Acosta may be slime, but his knowledge is invaluable. On the scale, what happened to you and your family was nothing."

Tim finally managed to pull Kort off of him and then he punched him in the face.

Kort stumbled back a bit, but quickly regained his balance and took hold of his jar. "Well, apparently you do have something in you resembling balls. Is it out of your system? Can we get to work?"

"I'm not working with that son of a bitch!" Tim practically growled.

"You will if you don't want everyone knowing the truth. How do you think your team will react when they find out you've lied to them for so long? How do you think _she _will react. Maybe she'll even blame you for not stopping it. After all, all you did was sit there while your family was killed," Kort said. He of course knew that every word was BS. No one would blame the younger man for what happened. As a child, there was nothing he could do. He was even sure they wouldn't be that upset to the lies. But McGee didn't need to know that. He almost definitely blamed himself, so it was easy to convince him that others would to, and that was certainly to Kort's advantage.

"Shut up," Tim said as Kort's words started to hit home. He was touching on one of the biggest reasons he'd never told anyone the truth, especially _her._ There were other reasons, especially in the beginning. He had been afraid after escaping Acosta that the man would find him resume torturing him to death. But now guilt played a prominent role. He should've done something more to protect his family.

"It's not like working with us or not will change what happened, so why not just give in and protect your secrets?" Kort asked.

"You're a piece of garbage, Kort," Tim said with anger, yet defeat in his voice.

Kort smirked. "I'll consider that your agreement to continue. "Shall we go back in?"

Tim didn't answer. He just led the way back in.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab to see both her and Tony loomed over her computer.

Abby noticed Gibbs first. "Hey, Gibbs. We don't have anything on Kort yet. Hacking into Kort's movements at the CIA is difficult and Tony is no help."

"Hey!" Tony protested.

"Sorry, Tony, but it's true. I need McGee," Abby said.

"If McGee were here, there would be no reason for this, would there. But you can stop. We know what Kort's after," Gibbs said.

"Thank God," Tony said. Abby was right, he was no good at this tech stuff. In fact, Abby had already snapped at him a couple of times.

"Got something else I want you to look into. I want you to find out everything you can on a Sebastian Acosta," Gibbs said. He needed information on Acosta for two reasons. One was obviously because he needed to know the kind of danger his agent was facing, but he also wanted to know what the hell the son of bitch had done to Jenny. She clearly hated every part of this guy and he wanted to know why.

"Is he involved with what's going on with McGee?" Abby asked.

Gibbs nodded curtly and headed back out.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs made it back to the bullpen just as Ziva was getting off the phone. "You got anything, Ziva."

"Yes, but I do not think it would be appropriate to discuss it out here," Ziva said.

"Elevator," was all Gibbs said before walking towards it.

Ziva got up and followed her boss to the elevator.

Once they were both inside, Gibbs hit the emergency switch. "Well?"

"I do not know a lot, but what I do know is disturbing," Ziva said with a shudder. She'd just had a very long conversation with McGee's mother, well, the woman she'd up until recently thought was his mother anyway, and what she'd heard shook her. "I just spoke with McGee's mother. Actually, his foster mother. Apparently the McGee's are not his family. They took him in when he was thirteen. Jessica McGee found him unconscious in a wooded area. She took him to the hospital and later she and her husband became his foster parents."

Gibbs was truly shocked. He wasn't someone who got shocked easily, but this had shocked him to the core. He just couldn't imagine something like this happening to McGee. "What the hell? This isn't in his file."

"It was not in the dossier I was given before coming here either. Apparently, Admiral McGee covered it up as a favor to McGee. I am not done, Gibbs. When McGee was found, he was in very bad shape. Apparently he was severely abused. Actually, Mrs. McGee said the word the doctors and the police used was torture. Emotionally, he was even worse, she said. He refused to speak for a very long time and when he did, he never said much. He never even told them his name. Apparently, Mrs. McGee just started calling him Tim because she liked the name. He never corrected it," Ziva said.

"Oh my God," Gibbs said quietly as he rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He'd thought he had prepared himself for whatever McGee was hiding, but this was beyond anything he had imagined. His agent had been tortured. How badly and by whom he didn't know, but from what Ziva had just said, he'd been hurt bad. You didn't refuse to speak your own name or even at all for a while unless something truly horrific happened to you.

"This has got to be what Kort is holding over his head. What kind of person holds something like this over someone's head?" Ziva asked angrily.

"He'll pay for it, Ziva," Gibbs promised. Kort was going to suffer in the worst possible way for using McGee's trauma against him. "I want you to get ahold of hospital records and Child Services reports. I need to know exactly what happened to him."

"Of course, Gibbs," Ziva said.

Gibbs flipped the switch and they got off the elevator. Gibbs then took out his phone and dialed Abby. He put the phone up to his ear and waited. "Hey, Abs."

There was a pause as Abby was obviously speaking.

"Yeah, I know you're not done yet. I need you to do something else. McGee's DNA should be in the system. I want you to run it and see if you can get any familiar DNA hits." Gibbs said. When McGee was a child they wouldn't have been able to do it. DNA was a new concept back then. But now, they might get an answer, and they needed it. Gibbs got the feeling that this all ran deeper than McGee simply not wanting to admit to a bad childhood.

"Abs, just do it," Gibbs said when Abby questioned his motives. Then he hung up the phone and headed for his desk.


	5. Chapter 5

Several hours later, Ziva was at her desk looking at the file she'd received on McGee from Social Service. She became more and more disturbed the more she read. She'd thought that after everything she'd seen while working at Mossad, nothing could affect her anymore, but she was wrong. The things that were done to McGee as a boy were worse than anything she'd ever seen or heard about.

Ziva kept thinking about McGee and the way he was now. He always seemed so normal and happy. How could someone go through what he had and not be visibly messed up for life. She had no doubt that he was messed up in many ways. No one could suffer such torment, but he hid it very well. Gibbs was wrong when he said McGee didn't know how to lie. He was very wrong.

Gibbs came through the bullpen at that moment with this third cup of coffee in his hand. "You got anything for me, Ziva?"

"Yes. Thankfully, Social Services were able to find his file somewhat quickly and faxed the information. Well, what they had left anyway. It was a long time ago. I am sure they lost some information. It is bad, Gibbs. What Mrs. McGee told me does not even begin to adequately describe what was done to him," Ziva said with sadness in her voice.

"Let me see," Gibbs said before taking the file from her and looking at it himself. "He barely got through half of the first page before he was sick to his stomach. This kid had been brutalized. There was mention of bruising on over seventy percent of his body, second and third degree burns in several places, several broken bones, deep cuts, welts, evidence of him being hit with a taser, etc. He was tortured, probably for a very long time. How was he even alive? "Good God."

"It is awful. How is he who he is? How can he possibly be the honorable man he is after being treated so brutally? And how could somebody do this to him? How could somebody harm a child this way?" Ziva asked. She could not understand how someone could be so cruel to a little boy. There was nothing worse to her than harming a child and these people had not simply harmed McGee. That was not a strong enough word. She didn't even think there was a strong enough word for what they did to him.

Gibbs didn't answer. He kept reading the file. He started reading the psychological reports, which were not pretty either. McGee was apparently mute for almost a year, probably not feeling safe enough to speak. When he spoke again, he said very little. He still refused to say his name or talk about what happened to him. He wouldn't tell anyone who hurt him. He wouldn't even acknowledge what had happened.

Gibbs felt almost sucker punched by all of this. He knew McGee had been hurt from what Ziva told him earlier, but seeing it in black and white was different. It made it more real. He never knew anything like this could've happened to McGee. Actually, reading this made him realize that he didn't really know McGee at all. Hell, he wasn't even McGee. His name was not Timothy McGee. He'd just started being called that by his foster parents. No one knew who he really was. Well, Kort probably knew. He was using it against him.

"Why didn't he tell us? I mean, I know why he would not just offer up the information, but why not come to us when Kort blackmailed him? It had to be better than giving into Kort," Ziva said.

"It's not something we can say, Ziva. Neither of us have ever gone through something so hellish. To him, it might have been better to throw in with Kort than to face a possible difference in how we treat him. Think about it. You gonna be able to forget this? You gonna be able to look at him and treat him the same way? Because I can't say for sure that I will," Gibbs said. Actually, he could say for sure that some things would change. For one, he would never head slap him again. He didn't know if it created any trauma, but he could not use any kind of violence against a man who had been tortured.

"So this is it. This is what Kort was holding over him."

"It's part of it. I do think there's a little bit more to it," Gibbs said. He had a feeling his gut that there was more to this story. That was why he was having Abby run his DNA. He had a feeling that who he really was was part of what Kort was using against him.

Soon Gibbs heard his phone ring. He immediately took it out and answered it. "Yeah, Gibbs. Be right there," he said before hanging up. "Let's go. Abby and Tony have something."

Ziva immediately got up and headed for the elevator.

Gibbs made a stop at his desk and put McGee's file in his desk so no one would see it before following Ziva.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs and Ziva made it down to the lab a few minutes later and saw Abby and Tony at her computer. "You get the DNA results in, Abs?"

"No, that's still running," Abby said.

"Why are we running McGee's DNA anyway, Boss?" Tony wondered. He'd been surprised when Abby told him that Gibbs wanted her to run the DNA. There was no reason to run McGee's DNA.

"Later," Gibbs said. He knew he'd have to fill Tony in, but right now he wanted to know what they'd learned. "What did you find out?"

"We have answers for you on Acosta and it's bad, Gibbs. He's a really horrible person. He might be the worst person we've ever investigated," Abby said grimly.

"I am not sure about that," Ziva said quietly as she thought about what McGee had gone through. She was pretty sure whoever did that was the worst person alive.

"Well?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"He's seriously up there as far as criminals go, Boss. He's been investigated for drug trafficking, embezzlement, and Espionage. He was investigated by the CIA many years ago. One agent in particular went after him strongly," Tony said.

"Who was the agent?" Gibbs asked.

Abby and Tony both looked at each other nervously. They both knew that revealing this information might come back to bite them, considering who it pertained to, but they also knew Gibbs wasn't going to let up until they told him. "This is gonna be like opening a can of worms boss."

"Because it involves the director?" Gibbs asked. It wasn't a big leap. He knew that Jenny had something personal against Acosta, so it was an easy conclusion to draw.

"Yeah. The agent was her brother, Jasper Shepard Jr.," Abby said.

"He and his whole family were brutally murdered by Acosta eighteen years ago," Tony said.

"Including his kids, Jasper III and Sarah. They were only twelve and five," Abby said with tears in her eyes.

Gibbs sighed. No wonder Jenny was so pissed off. Her brother and his entire family had been murdered by this man and the CIA was gonna let him get away with it. Her reaction was pretty damn tame considering.

"Well, we don't know for sure that the boy was killed. He was declared dead several months later, but his body was never found. Although, it seems unlikely that a guy like that would leave him alive," Tony said.

"This is awful," Ziva said. This was the second time today that she'd heard about someone she knew suffering greatly. First, she learned what McGee had gone through as a boy and now she found out that Jenny had lost several members of her family because of another monster.

"This means that McGee's life is in a lot of danger, Boss. There's no telling what Acosta will do to him," Tony said with worry

Gibbs nodded. "You and Ziva head back to your desk and do what you can to find Kort. Abby, let me know when you have the DNA results."

They all nodded.

Gibbs then headed for the elevator. Now he needed to talk to Jenny.


	6. Chapter 6

Jenny was in her office looking at a photo of her brother, sister-in-law, and niece and nephew. She had been very close to her brother and his children. It had devastated when they were killed and it never got easier to deal with. In fact, time made it worse. She would think about them all the time and think of what they never had a chance to see, especially her niece and nephew. They'd missed out on so many experiences.

Jenny started to get extremely angry again as thoughts of her family members' brutal murders resurfaced. She was beyond angry that their killer was still out there, but she was even more angry that the CIA, people her brother worked for and with were allowing it. They knew where he was and they were working with him.

Jenny was pulled from her thoughts when the door to her office opened and Gibbs stepped in. "Unless you have some news on McGee and Kort, please leave. I'm not in the mood."

Gibbs shut the door and walked over to her. "Don't blame you. CIA's treating your brother and his family like they were nothing."

Jenny was not surprised to hear that Jethro knew the truth. He probably had his team start looking into Acosta right after he left her office. She couldn't blame him for that. In his mind, he would've needed to find out about Acosta to figure out how much danger McGee was in right now.

"I never knew you had a brother," Gibbs said.

"He was already dead when we met. There was no point in bringing him up, unless I wanted to spend several hours feeling a lot of pain and anger. My brother was a good man. He was a great agent, not that the CIA gives a damn about that now. Apparently his years of service to them mean nothing. Neither do the lives of the two kindest woman I've ever met and two small children!" Jenny said with anger.

Gibbs took a seat in front of her desk. "It usually is good people that are taken."

"My niece and nephew were only five and twelve. Jasper had just celebrated his birthday a couple of months before. I was there. I never thought it would be the last time I saw him, or any of them," Jenny said sadly.

"DiNozzo said they never found his body," Gibbs said.

"No, they didn't, but he's dead. That's something that took me a long time to accept, but I eventually had to. At first, I thought maybe Jasper was at a friends house or maybe he got away, but days went by with no sign of him, so that theory went out the window. I still couldn't accept his death though. There was no body and in my mind that meant he could still be out there. It took me months to accept the truth. If Acosta got his hands on my nephew, he wouldn't have let him live. I had to accept that," Jenny said.

Gibbs couldn't deny that logic, but something didn't make sense to him. Why didn't Acosta leave Jasper's body with the rest of his family? It wasn't to torment his father because his father was dead. Was it to torment the rest of the Shepard family?

"Jasper's death was the hardest for me, probably because there was no body. I accepted that he was gone, but…

"It was harder to move on without the closure of burying his remains," Gibbs finished for her.

"Yeah. It just still feels like it's not over because of that. It feels like I'm missing something," Jenny said.

"You don't have all the answers," Gibbs said.

"Story of my life. It was the same with La Grenouille. I knew he killed my father, but I didn't know how and I had no real proof," Jenny said.

"That's why you were so obsessed with him. You're not so obsessed with Acosta," Gibbs pointed out.

"La Grenouille was a possibility. I knew where he was to an extent and I had the power to go after him. Acosta disappeared after killing my brother and his family. I had no way of knowing where he was. Besides, there would've been no trying to take him down if I found him. I would've shot him on sight," Jenny said. Of course, in the end she shot La Grenouille too, but him she was willing to handle legally, not Acosta. HIm, she planned to kill if they ever met. There was no doubt of that.

"Is that the plan? I know you, Jen. You're not gonna just let him go when you know he's so close," Gibbs said.

"You're damn right I'm not. Acosta will pay for what he's done. I don't care what the CIA wants with him. He murdered… no, actually, slaughtered, members of my family and I am going to put a bullet in the SOB!" Jenny swore. She had no problem admitting this to Jethro. She knew he'd done something similar when his own family was killed. "However, first priority is making sure McGee makes it back in one piece. Any news on him?"

"On his whereabouts, no," Gibbs said.

"But you know something. Is it about what he's hiding?" Jenny asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Still don't know all he's hiding."

"But you know something. Tell me," Jenny ordered.

"Can't do that, Jen. This isn't something he needs going around," Gibbs said. He hoped to be able to keep what happened to McGee as a boy underwraps, although, that seemed like it would be difficult, especially since he was literally now who he said he was and his true identity would soon get out

Jenny glared at him. "I'm not about to start spreading gossip around the office, Jethro, but if I'm going to help get him out from underneath Kort, I need to know what's going on."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm gonna make sure McGee is out from underneath him and that Kort knows not to screw with my people again," Gibbs said firmly.

Jenny was about to speak again when they both heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Abby walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, Director, but Tony said Gibbs was up here. I would've waited, but this is something you need to hear too. This is weird, like really weird and it almost seems impossible, but DNA doesn't lie. It's actually what I like about DNA. It…

"Abby!" What's going on?" Gibbs asked before standing up.

"I got the results back for McGee," Abby said.

"You ran DNA on McGee?" Jenny asked surprised.

"Yeah, Gibbs asked me too. I'm sorry, Gibbs, I know you might not have wanted anyone knowing, but this is something the director needs to know," Abby said.

"What did you find, Abby?" Jenny asked.

"Well, I ran the DNA for a familial match, like Gibbs wanted. I wasn't really expecting anything surprising, but boy was I surprised. Timmy's related to someone at NCIS," Abby said.

"Who?" Jenny asked curiously.

Abby was quiet at first, but then said two words that would shock both the other occupants of the room. "You, Director."


	7. Chapter 7

Jenny stared at Abby in shock for several seconds at Abby's words. She almost felt she must have heard wrong because what she'd heard was impossible. "I'm sorry, Abby, but I'm going to have to ask you to repeat that."

"The DNA match for McGee was you, Director Shepard. The two of you are related," Abby said.

"Abby, I know you pride yourself with your accuracy, but you must of made a mistake. That's not possible," Jenny said. She was more than shocked by this. She couldn't be related to McGee. She would know if she was. She knew who her relatives were. This had to be a mistake.

Gibbs agreed with Jenny at first. He was shocked when Abby said that McGee's DNA matched Jenny's, and even though he hadn't known Abby to make mistakes often, he believed she must have. Then he thought about everything he'd just learned about McGee's past. No one knew who he really was. The name 'Timothy McGee' was given to him by his foster parents. There was also his condition when he was found. He was tortured by someone viciously, much like Jenny's brother and his family had been before they were killed. What were the odds of something similar happening to another family member of hers? He was the right age and the kid's body wasn't recovered. Gibbs didn't believe in coincidences. McGee was Jasper Shepard III, Jenny's nephew.

"Director, I reviewed the results over and over again. There's no mistake," Abby said.

"Abs, give us the room," Gibbs said.

Abby hesitated for a moment. She could tell that Gibbs had figured out what was going on and she wanted to know what it was, but the look he was sending her made it clear that it wasn't a request, so she headed out.

"Jethro, this is not possible," Jenny said once Abby was gone.

"Yeah, it is," Gibbs said.

Jenny raised an eyebrow and gave him a skeptical look. "You think I have some unknown family out there."

"No, not unknown. You knew him. There was no body, Jen," Gibbs said knowing that she would get the message.

It took Jenny seconds to figured out what he was talking about. "Don't go there. That is not possible. I won't even entertain the idea." It wasn't that she had some aversion to McGee being her nephew, but it wasn't possible. Her nephew was dead. she'd faced that fact a long time ago and hoping otherwise and finding out it wasn't true would kill her.

"It is possible. There's no evidence of his murder," Gibbs said.

"Acosta wouldn't have let him live and if Jasper had somehow escaped, he would've gone to the police or called me personally. He was a smart kid. He knew what to do if something happened," Jenny said.

"He didn't just let him go, Jen, and your nephew did not escape, not that night anyway," Gibbs said sadly.

"What are you talking about? What do you know?" Jenny asked with trepidation in her voice. Gibbs obviously knew something, something that made him think that McGee and her nephew were the same person and whatever it was that he knew clearly wasn't good.

"Didn't wanna tell you. Didn't want his personal business getting out, even just to you, but you're his family. You have a right to know. You need to know if you're gonna help him," Gibbs said. He would do his best to help his agent through the hell he went through years earlier, but Jenny would have the best chance to. She was his family.

"What is it?" Jenny asked nervously.

"McGee didn't have the life he's led everyone to believe. He's not even a McGee. That was the name his foster parents gave him when they found him," Gibbs said.

"What are you talking about? The McGees are his parents. He was born to them in Maryland. That's in his file, another reason he can't be my nephew," Jenny said.

"Everything in that file's a lie, Jen. Admiral McGee doctored it all on his foster son's request. we've got a real file on him from Social Services. I can't blame him. I wouldn't want anyone knowing if it were me either," Gibbs said.

"Knowing what?" Jenny asked.

Gibbs sighed. "Prepare yourself. This kind of stuff would make a stranger sick to their stomach. He's your nephew. It's gonna be hard to hear."

"Tell me."

"He was found when he was thirteen. That's the first thing anyone knows about it. He was in bad shape. He was tortured, badly. It was so bad that he did not speak for a year. He never told them his real name or about his family. It probably had most people thinking his family had done it to him," Gibbs said.

"What exactly was done to him?" Jenny asked.

"Well, you and I would both be hard pressed to find something more vicious. He was found very broken. There were quite a few indications of torture. Broken bones, burns, bruises. The list was huge. My thinking is that Acosta did let him live that night, but it was far from mercy. He let him live so he could cause him more damage. He wanted to torture him so bad that he wished he was dead," Gibbs said.

Jenny covered her face with her hands as what Gibbs was saying truly hit her. She kept imagining her twelve-year-old nephew being brutally tortured by Acosta for no other reason than because Acosta could. She kept imagining all the horrible things he did to him in span of a year. She kept hearing Jasper screaming and begging for it to stop, maybe even begging for death, only to be laughed and hurt more

Jenny's thoughts moved on to the young man she'd met just a couple of years ago. He was nervous around her from the start. She didn't think anything of it. That seemed to be how he was around people with authority. She figured it was just the position she held. But what if it wasn't? What if he was afraid that she would realize the truth? And if it was the truth, why the hell hadn't she realized? He was her nephew. She should've known him the second she saw him.

"Jenny," Gibbs said when she hadn't spoken for a while.

Jenny removed her hands from her face after a minute. "This is possible. My God, this could've happened."

"It did happen, Jen. Even if I did believe in coincidences, there's none this big," Gibbs said.

"I didn't recognize him. I looked at his face every day for years and I did not recognize my own nephew," Jenny said. She couldn't understand that. He was her family. She'd been around often when he was a child. They were close. She should've seen him as an adult for who he really was.

"Eighteen years is a long time and kids change. Not to mention that you thought he was dead. You weren't looking for him," Gibbs said.

"Oh my God," Jenny said as she rubbed her eyes. "This is true. McGee is Jasper. This is what he didn't want anyone to know. Why? Why wouldn't he tell me? Is he afraid of me?" Jenny asked positively stricken at the thought. She and her nephew had a very good relationship when he was a child. He would talk to her about things that he wouldn't talk to anyone else about. Him being afraid of her sat very badly with her.

"No, I don't think he's afraid of you, Jen. Maybe he's afraid of your reaction to the truth or maybe he's just afraid of being forced to deal with it it himself. He of course knows it happened, but no one's forced him to deal with it. You will and he knows it. I think he's gone to a lot of trouble to bury it and that ends as soon as you find out the truth," Gibbs said.

Jenny had to admit that that was likely. He had had his personnel file completely doctored so that no one would learn the truth. He was trying to make it go away, even to himself, though that went out the window as soon as Kort forced him to go with him.

It was in that moment that Jenny realized the sheer horror of the situation. Her nephew was back in the hands of Sebastian Acosta right now with only Kort looking out for him. She needed to find him before that SOB did something else

Jenny picked up her phone.

"Who are you calling?" Gibbs asked.

"The CIA again. If they give me the runaround again, I'm going to get in touch with every contact I have to put a stop to this. I'm not playing games anymore. I'm going to get my nephew out of the hands of that bastard and then I'm going to kill Trent Kort," Jenny practically growled. She wanted Acosta as well, even more so, but Kort was not going to get away with this. He had exploited her nephew for his ends and she was going to make him pay for that.


	8. Chapter 8

True to her word, Jenny had started pulling contacts once she struck out with the CIA. The cowardly director wouldn't even get on the phone with her this time, probably knowing the truth about her nephew and not wanting to deal with her, so after giving his assistant a piece of her mind for having the bad luck of delivering the news of her boss' cowardice, she got on the phone with a military friend of her brother's, who was now standing in front of her, General Alan Harper. "Thanks for coming, Alan. I know it's getting close to dinner time and you'd probably rather be at home with your wife."

"Don't even mention it, Jenny. Jay was a good friend and I'll do whatever I can to help his sister," Harper said.

"I appreciate that. Jay is why I asked you here. Well, actually, his son is," Jenny said.

"Has Jasper's remains finally been recovered?" Harper asked.

"No, and they won't be because there are no remains. Jasper is still alive," Jenny said. Then she waited for the disbelief she knew was coming. Her nephew being alive after all this time and with what happened at his home eighteen years ago was unbelievable.

"He is?" Harper asked with great skepticism in his voice. He seemed a bit afraid to voice his disbelief though.

"I haven't gone insane, Alan. I have proof," Jenny said. There was no anger in her voice. She didn't blame him one bit for being hesitant to believe her. She hadn't believed it right away either. She didn't see how it was possible. It wasn't until Jethro explained that she believed him.

"Proof?"

Jenny nodded. "There's DNA evidence and circumstantial evidence to prove it. He uses a different name now, but it's Jasper."

Harper sat down on of the chairs. "I don't understand. Acosta let him go when he killed everyone else that night?"

"No, he didn't let him go. He decided to make torturing my nephew a sport," Jenny said with anger in her voice. She thought about just the vague information that Gibbs had given her and that was enough to send her into a rage. She was going to kill Acosta for what he'd done to her family. "Somehow Jasper escaped him and made it to a family that took him in. he never spoke of his past, which is why we never found him."

"My God. You're sure?"

"Yes. I found out a couple hours ago. I haven't gotten to talk to him about it yet because he's missing and in trouble," Jenny said.

"What do you need, Jenny," Harper asked immediately, ready to do whatever it took to help his friend's son.

"The CIA has lost their minds! They've decided to deal with Acosta. They're getting him to help with bringing down terrorists in exchange for his freedom," Jenny said.

Harper huffed. "That's gotta be the craziest thing I've ever heard, but i wish I could say it surprised me. No offense to Jay or the few decent people I know who work or have worked in the CIA, but most of them are idiots. How is Jasper involved?"

"You know of a man named Trent Kort?" Jenny asked.

"I've heard of him. He's a well-known CIA agent who many times uses less than legal or ethical means to complete missions," Harper said.

"That's putting it mildly, but you have the gist. He came here this morning and coerced Jasper into helping him and Acosta with operation they're on now. Unknown to me, Jasper was working under me using a different name," Jenny said. It still bothered her that she didn't know. She should've figured it out. Now that she thought back on it, she saw pieces of her brother in the face of the man she'd seen every day for over two years. She didn't understand why she never saw that before.

Harper looked pissed. "He's got a young man who was tortured by Acosta and lost virtually everything to him working with him?"

"Yeah, and that's something he will pay for!" Jenny said firmly. Kort was not going to get away with what he was doing to her nephew. He was going to pay for daring to think he could exploit him this way. "I have been dealing with the CIA all day and they've been less than helpful. They say Kort is working solo to use Jasper, which I believed at first, but now I'm not so sure. Either way, they must have some idea of where Kort would go with him and I need to find out. My nephew's life is on the line. I will not trust it to Kort."

"I have some contacts in the CIA that I can ask for help. I would be glad to do it and help with Jasper's recover if I can," he said.

"Thank you, Alan," Jenny said gratefully.

"Just out of curiousity, what about Acosta. I don't see you just standing by and letting the CIA whisk him away when this is over," Alan said.

"I have no intention of that," Jenny said. She meant what she said to Jethro earlier. When she got her hands on Acosta, she would not be letting him go, nor would she be arresting him. He was going nowhere but into a hole.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony looked at his watch as he sat at his desk. It was almost six and there was still no news on McGee. He was getting worried about the younger man. McGee was right now with a known sociopath. Sure, Kort was there, but that wasn't exactly reassuring. Kort couldn't be trusted.

"It is getting late," Ziva said from her own desk. She too was worried.

"Yeah," Tony agreed.

"Is there any news on the BOLO?" Ziva asked.

"Of course not. Kort's a pro. He knows how we operate and he knows how to avoid us," Tony said.

"Gibbs is not going to be happy to hear this," Ziva said. It had been hours and they still had nothing. Gibbs would not like it. Hell, she did not like it.

"Nope," Tony agreed.

Just then the two were interrupted by a familiar voice. "Where's Gibbs?"

Tony and Ziva both turned to see Fornell standing there in casual clothes. "Fornell, what are you doing here?"

"A good question, DiNozzo, one I'd like the answer to. Your boss called me me here and wouldn't tell me why over the phone," Fornell said sounding annoyed.

Gibbs came through at that moment carrying coffee. "Tobias."

"Wanna tell me why I'm here at six-o'clock on my day off?" Fornell asked.

Gibbs nodded towards the elevator and led the way. He didn't bother to make sure Fornell was following. He knew he was. Once they were both inside and the doors closed, he hit the emergency switch.

"What's going on?" Fornell asked.

"Got a situation involving one of my agents, Trent Kort, and his newest project who also happens to be a sadistic killer," Gibbs said.

"Since he's the only one I didn't see, I assume it's McGee. Shouldn't you be dealing with the CIA ?" Fornell asked.

"Trying, but as usual, they're playing games and Jenny's getting pissed," Gibbs said. He didn't blame her. McGee was her nephew. That still seemed weird. Never in his life would he have guessed McGee and Jenny were related, not until he got the information on both their pasts and it started to merge. But he was related to her and the more that sunk in for her, the angrier she got at the CIA, especially Kort.

"Not surprised. They've been making a habit of interfering with NCIS lately," Fornell said.

"It's more complicated than that. First of all, have you heard of a man named Sebastian Acosta?" Gibbs asked.

Recognition appeared on Fornell's face immediately. "You're right, it is more complicated. Yeah, I've heard of him. Not many on the job back then haven't. Just like not many haven't heard of Jasper Shepard Jr. and his family. I'm sure you know now that Acosta murdered your director's brother and his whole family."

"No, he didn't kill all of them. Jasper Shepard III survived that night," Gibbs said.

Fornell frowned. "Where'd you get that idea? The boy wasn't declared dead at the same time as the rest of his family, but it was clear to almost everyone that he was dead. Acosta killed his five-year-old sister. Why would he leave him alive?"

"To torture him. He tortured that kid, Tobias. Got evidence to prove that. That doesn't leave this elevator. My team will find out simply because it can't be avoided, but no one else. He's been through enough," Gibbs said.

"Why do I get the feeling you know Jasper Shepard personally?" Fornell asked.

"Should start at the beginning. This morning, Kort showed up and forced McGee to leave with him," Gibbs started.

"Forced him how?" Fornell asked.

"He blackmailed him. He threatened to reveal secrets that you'll learn during this conversation. Anyway, after Jenny threatened to accuse them of kidnapping, the CIA finally informed her and me that they were using Sebastian Acosta to take down terrorists that had infiltrated their systems," Gibbs said.

"Are you kidding me? I know the CIA works with shady people, the business with La Grenouille is proof of that, but Acosta brutally murdered one of their one," Fornell said with disbelief and disgust in his voice.

"Yeah, so you can imagine Jenny's reaction. She demanded McGee back immediately, but they've been claiming that they had nothing to do with Kort using him," Gibbs said.

"You believe them?" Fornell asked.

"Not sure. They certainly have reason to lie if they did know. But that's irrelevant right now. McGee's in trouble and what matters is helping him," Gibbs said.

"Well, with a guy like Acosta, I can see why you're anxious to put an end to this, but what does all of this have to do with the Shepard boy?" Fornell asked. The piece didn't fit in anywhere. When did they learn he was alive and what part did he play? He soon thought about everything Gibbs had told him about Jenny Shepard's nephew and about McGee. "Wait, are you trying to say that McGee is Jasper Shepard III?"

Gibbs nodded curtly. "Found out a little while ago. As you can guess, Jenny is even more pissed since learning that. Kort has placed her nephew in serious danger and it's not the first time he's been in danger from Acosta. She's on the warpath." He'd gotten a front row seat for that. He was there when she called the CIA and the director refused to speak to her Jenny had completely torn apart his assistant.

"If this is true, why didn't McGee ever say anything?" Fornell asked.

Gibbs shrugged. "Don't know for sure. I have my guesses though. He was tortured by Acosta and he never recovered from it. He never dealt with it to recover from it. If he told Jen the truth, he would have to deal with it. She wouldn't let him hide anymore because she'd know that it would just destroy him."

Fornell sighed. "Alright, what is it that you want from me. I don't exactly have much pull with the CIA."

"That's not what I need. We will find McGee. Jenny's pulling every resource she has, professional and personal. We'll find them. What I'm worried about is what Jenny will do to Acosta when she sees him. She's already stated to me that she'd kill him if she saw him, and that was before it was determined that McGee was her family and what happened to him. Now I'd wager that she wants Acosta's head even more," Gibbs said. He didn't blame her either. He would and did take vengeance when it was his family, but he was alone. If he went to prison, there wouldn't be anyone hurt by it. It wasn't the same with Jenny.

"And you want my help to stop her," Fornell guessed.

Gibbs nodded. "Can't let her do it. I get her anger and thirst for revenge, but I can't let her possibly go to prison. McGee needs her, even if he doesn't realize it. She's all he has. I'm not sure I'll be able to get her to step aside when the time comes. Can't take the risk." Of course it wasn't just McGee. A large part of it was. McGee did need her. He needed her support and he also needed her fierceness to force him to finally deal with what happened to him. But Gibbs also wasn't willing to let Jenny go to prison. He cared about her and he wouldn't let it happen.

"So you want me to help stop it and hand him back over to the CIA?" Fornell asked skeptically. That did not seem any better, nor did it sound like something Gibbs would do.

Gibbs glared at him. "I'm tempted to head slap you for even suggesting I'd agree to that. Acosta destroyed McGee's and Jenny's lives! He tortured them both in different ways. He doesn't walk away again.

"So then what do you want?" Fornell asked truly perplexed.

"The CIA has admitted that Acosta has been involved with the terrorists they're trying to stop," Gibbs said.

Realization hit Fornell after a few seconds. "You want us to swoop in, grab Acosta and whisk him away as a terrorist before Kort and his buddies can do anything."

Gibbs smirked. "As a terrorist, he has no rights. Kort can't do a damn thing."

"Except make my life hell later. I'll take a lot of backlash over this," Fornell said.

"He's a murderer. He tortured an entire family, save one, to death. He has to be taken off the streets, Tobias. CIA can't be allowed to deal with him," Gibbs said.

Fornell sighed. "You will owe me big for this."

Gibbs smiled and hit the emergency switch once more. "If it makes you feel better, I'll get backlash too. Jenny's gonna be pissed when she realizes I've kept her from exacting her revenge."

"It makes me feel slightly better," Fornell said with a smirk.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day Tim was sitting at the kitchen table in the small apartment with a laptop. That was where he'd been since Kort had forced him to come and work with him and the man who ruined his life.

So far things hadn't been that bad. They were far from good obviously. He felt sick to his stomach and angry as hell every time he saw Acosta and the evil smirk he would give him, but that was as far as Acosta had screwed with him so far. He thankfully hadn't said much to him. Kort, on the other hand, couldn't help but throw the offhanded comment out every now and again. But Kort was his only real protection from Acosta, since he'd taken his gun. Tim still had his rule nine, but it was hardly the same kind of protection as his Sig. Acosta was a career criminal. He probably would be able to best him and his knife.

Tim rubbed his eyes. He was extremely tired. He'd been going since Kort brought him. He didn't have to, in fact, Kort told him to sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. There was no way he was going to sleep with Sebastian Acosta so close to him. Letting his guard down around that bastard was suicide.

Just then Tim head footsteps from behind him. He immediately reached towards his knife and turned around. After seeing that it was Kort, he let go of his weapon and relaxed.

"McGee, it doesn't look like you went far, or got any sleep," Kort commented.

"I'll sleep when I relieve myself of you people. As far as I'm concerned, you were stupid to sleep with the devil in the house," Tim said before taking a sip of his coffee. He felt like Gibbs. He was already on his second pot. Unfortunately, it was no longer working.

Kort just chuckled in response. "Any hits."

Tim shook his head. "They haven't tried to get in yet,"

"They will soon," Kort said.

Soon they both heard footsteps and then Acosta entered the room. "Good morning, gentlemen."

Tim turned to his computer screen and willed himself to tune the son of bitch out.

"Acosta," Kort greeted.

"Kort. And of course, Young Jasper," Acosta said.

Tim barely suppressed a flinch. He hadn't been referred to by that name in eighteen years and he preferred it that way. He'd worked hard to let go of who he used to be. It wasn't being Jasper Shepard III that he had a problem with, of course. He loved his family and he'd always been proud that he was named after his father and grandfather. There was a time when he was worried that he wouldn't live up to it because he knew he was different than them, but after some reassurance from his aunt, he was okay again. The reason he tried so hard to let go of his name and the life that went with it was because he wanted to get rid of the pain. He wanted as much distance as he could from it. becoming someone else and hiding the truth didn't get rid of it, but it did help him escape it most of the time.

"You're not exactly 'young' anymore, are you? But you are the youngest with the name," Acosta said before laughing. "Actually, you're the only one alive with the name."

Tim gripped the side of the table and willed himself not to take the bait. Acosta wanted a reaction and Tim would be damned if he gave it to him.

"Tell me, what's it like to have the same name as two generations before you did. Do you ever feel inferior?" Acosta asked.

Tim bit his lip and began breathing heavily.

"You should if you don't. I've seen how weak you can be. I remember the way you begged for mercy. If I recall, you even begged for death," Acosta said.

This time Tim couldn't stop the flinch. He remembered that. He'd been sadistically tortured by Acosta and his men for months by that point. He wanted it to stop, even if it meant dying.

"Of course your father begged too, but for his life. He begged for yours and your sister's. Well, I gave him one didn't I. I spared you," Acosta said.

That was it. Any self-control Tim had was gone. He stood up angrily and grabbed Acosta by the shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Spared me?! You tortured me nearly to death! No. No, you did kill me. Jasper Shepard III died in that hell hole! You forced me to become someone else!"

Acosta laughed. "I don't remember telling you to adopt a new name."

"You took everything that was Jasper away from me! You killed parents and my sister. You took away the rest of my family too! I can barely even function around the only living family member I have left because of you!" Tim yelled in a rage. From the moment his aunt walked into NCIS as the new director, he'd been very anxious and nervous when ever he was around Jenny. He kept worrying that she would see through him and realize who he was. He couldn't have her find out the truth. Part of it was fear and guilt. He was afraid she'd blame him for what happened, just as he blamed himself. The other part was having to face what happened. He never forgot what was done to him and to his family, but taking on a new identity that no one knew was false made it easier to deal with. Well, more like bury. There were times where he could even convince himself for a few minutes that the lie was the truth. That would no longer be possible if Jenny learned the truth.

"That sounds like your issue, not mine. You should be grateful. You're the only one who's ever survived me before," Acosta said.

Tim stared at him for a minute. He could tell that Acosta hated the fact that he'd survived and if given the chance, he would try to rectify it,

"At least you were smart enough not to come after me afterwards. You disappeared and left well enough alone. Your father wasn't as smart," Acosta said.

"Shut up!" Tim growled. He wouldn't hear anymore about his father from this man. This man had murdered his father right in front of him. He'd made him watch while he killed his entire family, and in his parents' cases, also while he tortured them before killing them.

"He should've just let me be. He and the rest of his family would still be alive," Acosta said.

"Shut the hell up!" Tim screamed before pushing him from the wall and pushing him onto the floor.

It was then that Kort stepped between them. He'd let it play out at first. He enjoyed watching as Acosta provoked McGee and McGee slowly take the bait. It was entertaining to watch the younger man squirm with rage and disgust. But it would soon get out of control if he didn't step in. "Enough, Gentlemen. I think we should all cool down."

Acosta laughed and pulled himself up. "We are just fine, aren't we, Jasper?"

Tim glared at him murderously before walking out of the room and towards the front door. He grabbed his jacket from the arm of the couch.

Kort followed him. "Where do you think you're going, McGee?"

"For a walk to clear my head. It's in both your interests for me to get out of here for an hour or so," Tim said as he put his jacket on.

"Twenty minutes. If you haven't come back by then, I have a little chat with Director Shepard, known better to you as 'Auntie'," Kort said with a smirk.

"Go screw yourself, Kort," Tim said before walking out the door, slamming it behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony walked through the bullpen towards his desk. He'd just come from Abby's lab where he slept for about three hours. None of them left, but he and Ziva took turns getting a few hours sleep, per Gibbs' orders.

Tony found Ziva and Abby by Ziva's desk as he made his way to his own. "Hey, Abs. I was wondering where you were. You weren't in the lab when I woke up. Any news?"

"No, and I think if we do not find something quickly, Gibbs and the director might kill us," Ziva said.

"Yeah, the director's been kinda irritated and driven to end this quickly too. Do you think it's just because of her connection with Acosta?" Tony asked.

"I should get back to my lab," Abby said before hastily moving to leave.

A suspicious Tony planted himself in Abby's path. "Hang on, Abs. Do you know something we don't?"

"No," Abby said unconvincingly.

"Abby, you're a horrible liar. You're worse than McGee at it, What's going on?" Tony asked.

"I can't tell you. Well, they didn't actually say I couldnt' tell you, but I think that's just because they were shocked. I'm pretty sure if they hadn't been, they would've said I couldn't tell you," Abby rambled.

"Who is they?" Ziva asked.

"Gibbs and and Director Shepard," Abby said.

"And this has to do with why the director is much more determined to get McGee back than before?" Tony asked. She was of course always determined. She had been pissed that the CIA had interfered with one of theirs behind her back and she wanted to put a stop to it, but at some point, she became even more driven to get McGee back and stop Kort.

"Tony, seriously, I can't say. I'm pretty sure it's Classified. Well not 'if I tell you I have to kill you' type of Classified, but definitely big secret kind of Classified. I'm not even sure if Timmy knows about this. I do know that the director didn't know though," Abby said

Soon they all heard someone clearing their throat. They all turned to see Jenny standing by the stairs looking irritated.

"Good morning, Director," Tony said.

"Is there any news on J… Agent McGee?" Jenny asked with a slip slip up. She couldn't really think of him as McGee anymore. That wasn't who he was. He was Jasper to her and that was all she could think of him as.

"Not yet, Director," Ziva said.

"Then could you possibly explain to me why you are all standing around instead of finding him?" Jenny asked annoyed.

"I uh…"

"We were just…"

"You were just getting back to work," Gibbs said from behind them.

"That's exactly what we were doing, Boss," Tony said without even turning around.

Gibbs passed them all and followed Jenny upstairs and to her office.

"Twenty-four hours and still nothing," Jenny said once they were alone.

"We'll find him," Gibbs assured her.

"It's not finding him that I'm worried about. It's the condition he'll be in when we do find him. He's been in the same vicinity as that sadistic bastard for a day. God only knows what's happened in that time," Jenny said with a shudder.

"He's not a kid anymore, Jen. He's a trained federal agent. He can fight back now," Gibbs said. He couldn't deny his own worry though. One of his people was on his own with a known murderer. Sure, Kort was there, but that wasn't exactly reassuring. He just hoped McGee's training would be enough until they got there.

"My brother was trained too," Jenny said as she sat down behind her desk. "It didn't stop his murder."

"We'll find him. Have you given any thought of what you're gonna do when we do?" Gibbs asked in part to distract her from her worry, but also because it was something that had to be thought about. This didn't all end when McGee got home. HIs life would no longer be in danger, but he was still going to have to deal with a lot and so would Jenny.

"Not much. I've been too worried about making sure he does come back. There hasn't been much time to worry about the aftermath. All I know is that I will do everything in my power to be there for him. He's been alone this whole time and that's going to stop," Jenny said firmly.

"Good. He needs you, Jen. He can't admit that to himself because he's too busy trying to hide from everything, but he does. You're the only person he has left," Gibbs said.

"You know, I keep thinking about how he's been around me since I got here. He's acted nervous at best and downright afraid at worst," Jenny said. That hit her hard because Jasper was never like that around her in the past. They had a good relationship. He used to talk to her about things he wouldn't talk to anyone else about.

"He wasn't afraid of you. He was afraid of you learning the truth. He couldn't face you because he didn't wanna face the severity of what happened to him," Gibbs said.

Jenny nodded. "It's easy to hide the truth even from yourself when no one else knows about it. He remembers what happened, but he can push it to a distance. That's what you were saying last night.

"Yeah, and like I said, he knows that once you know the truth, that ends. You won't let it go on," Gibbs said.

"I can't. He may think it does, but hiding from the truth doesn't make anything better. He has to face the severity of what happened to him if he ever wants to heal. I have to make him deal with it," Jenny said.

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Gibbs said. He cared about Jenny and Tim in different ways. He wanted to be there for the both of them.

"I keep wondering if he saw. We both know that Acosta did a number on him physically, but I wonder if that's where it ends of if he saw it happen. Did he watch as his family was murdered?" Jenny asked. She prayed to God that the answer to that question was no. She couldn't imagine the horror that would be for a little boy. It would be hard for an adult if it was just a stranger, but for a twelve-year-old boy to watch his parents and his baby sister be murdered would be devastating and life changing.

"I wouldn't put it past someone like Acosta to force him to watch," Gibbs said. He hoped his agent hadn't seen something that horrible as a kid, but his gut told him that hoping anything with McGee wasn't gonna get him far. It had already been proven that the younger man had no good luck as a kid.

Just then, Jenny's phone began to ring. She quickly composed herself and got into full director mode before answering the phone. "Director Shepard. What? Oh, that's great," she said before quickly grabbing a pen and a piece of stationary. She quickly jotted something down. "Thank you, Alan."

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked once she hung up.

"That was a friend of my brother's. He used a contact he has in the CIA to get me a list of CIA safe houses. He's faxing them now. He also gave me an address for a personal apartment Kort has," Jenny said as she handed him the slip of paper.

Gibbs looked at it. "This is a couple of hours away, and if it's a personal place, Kort probably thinks we wouldn't find it. We'll check this place first."

"No, we'll check them all at once. I'm gonna send agents to the other locations as soon as the list comes in. Grab your team. We leave as soon as I can arrange that," Jenny said as she pulled her gun from her desk and strapped it on. She was going as well. She trusted her agents, especially Gibbs and his team, but this was her nephew and would not sit at her desk while he was in danger.

Gibbs nodded and left the room. He waited until he was out in the hall and then dialed a number. He put the phone to his ear and waited. "Tobias, it's me. Got an address for you. You need to be there before us."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was gone much longer than twenty minutes. He decided to call Kort's bluff slightly. He didn't believe Kort would go to Jenny now, not unless Tim backed out completely. Kort knew that if he did, it all ended. Any leverage he had would be gone and Jenny wouldn't allow the mission to continue. It was in his best interest not to say a thing.

The first thing Tim noticed when he got back to the apartment was that the guard stationed outside wasn't there. He didn't really think anything of it at the time. He was probably inside with Kort.

Of course that notion when out the window as soon as he stepped inside and saw the agent laying lifeless on the floor

Tim had an involuntary flashback from years earlier. He remembered looking on in horror at his parents and his sister's bodies. That was of course after having to watch them all die. He'd been held in a firm grip by two men as his parents were murdered brutally right in front of him. No matter how many times he tried, he could never get their screams out of his head. Sarah's death had been much quicker. In fact, she was asleep while it happened and never knew a thing. But it was all traumatizing to his twelve-year-old self.

Tim was so engrossed in his horrible memories that he didn't see Acosta come up from behind him. He felt the blow to the head and then he was out.


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs pulled the car up to the apartment building that he hoped would hold Kort, McGee, and Acosta. The first thing he saw was the FBI vehicles and a few agents by it. He wasn't surprised by it. He had after all asked Fornell to come and get there first so that he could get Acosta out before Jen had a chance to take her revenge.

Jenny, however, was surprised. In fact, seeing the FBI there scared her. She figured that something must have happened to get them there and that made her afraid for her nephew.

Tony and Ziva were in the backseat and they were also surprised to see the FBI. "How the hell are the FBI involved?" Tony asked.

Gibbs quickly pulled the car up to the front, as Jenny was already taking her seat belt off to get out. He had no doubt that she would get out while he was driving if he didn't.

Jenny was out of the car seconds after the car came to a complete stop and was rushing to the front door.

Gibbs and the rest of the team got out and followed. They walked down to the end of the hall where an open door was. They saw the agents as they looked inside.

Jenny's face blanched at the dead body she saw just inside. If she wasn't afraid for Jasper before, she was terrified for him now. The odds of a murder occurring in the same building Kort held residence and it not having to do with Acosta were slim to none, and if Acosta had killed this man, what had he done to her nephew. "Oh, God."

Fornell came over a second later. "We were too late. Neither Acosta or McGee were here when we got here."

Jenny didn't bother asking how Fornell even knew about Accosta or the situation with Jasper. She really didn't care. All she cared about was finding her nephew's safety right now. "What exactly happened? What did you find when you got here?" Jenny asked.

"You're looking at it. We found this guy dead. There was no one else here. However, we did find a small amount of blood a few feet away from him," Fornell said.

Jenny shuddered. She felt like that blood had to belong to Jasper. The way Fornell had said it made it sound like it wasn't the murder victim's, so who else's would it be. "How small?"

"It wasn't a lot. Not enough to be overly concerned," Fornell said.

"He's in the hands of sadistic killer. I think that's reason enough to be concerned," Jenny said.

"He might not be. Kort said McGee left the apartment at some point and that he hadn't seen him since. Maybe Acosta hurt himself at some point," Fornell said.

"Kort? Kort's here? Where the hell is he?" Jenny demanded to know. She was going to destroy him for this. He was the reason for all of this. If anything happened to her nephew, it was his fault and she was going to make him regret ever meeting either of him.

"He's in the kitchen," Fornell told her.

With a determined and pissed off look on her face, Jenny stalked towards the kitchen.

Fornell looked at Gibbs. "She's gonna rip him apart."

"Yup, and I'm gonna help her," Gibbs said before following her.

Tony and Ziva exchanged confused looks over the increasingly weird behavior of their director and followed her and Gibbs.

Jenny glared the second she say Kort and advanced towards him. "You son of a bitch."

"Hello, Director, Gibbs," Kort greeted.

"Where the hell is he?" Jenny demanded to know.

"Did you miss my dead colleague? I don't know where either of them are," Kort said.

"And where the hell were you when your man was being murdered and mine was kidnapped,"

"I was called by an informant on another case. And kidnapping is a stretch at this point. McGee was not here when I left. He had a meltdown and walked out. For all I know, he never came back," Kort said. He highly doubted that scenario though. McGee liked keeping his secrets too much. It was more likely that he came back and was surprised by Acosta.

"A meltdown," Gibbs repeated.

"Yes. He let Acosta provoke him like an idiot," Kort said with a sneer.

"You made a deal with a sociopath and you think you can call someone else an idiot?" Jenny asked.

Kort sighed. "I'm not surprised that you don't approve, Director Shepard. I"ll tell you what I told McGee…"

"Stop calling him that! You know damn well that's not who he is!" Jenny snapped.

Kort looked at her for a minute, surprised that she seemed to know the truth, but he quickly recovered. "No, I guess it's not. Let's have it, Director. Have a go at me for torturing your poor little nephew."

Tony and Ziva both stared at each other in shock. They'd just heard Kort refer to McGee as the director's nephew, something that completely floored them. For one, the director's nephew was supposed to be dead, murdered by Acosta when he was a boy, and either way, they never would've guessed that a man they'd both known for years would end up related to the director.

If looks could kill, Kort would've dropped right on the spot from the death glare Jenny was sending him. "You little bastard! You walked into my building and blackmailed my nephew out of it right out from under me! You forced him with a man that ruined his life so badly that he felt he had to deny who he is! Now he's gone and it's because of you!"

"Acosta was disarmed. He shouldn't have been able to kill or kidnap anyone. I had no way of knowing he'd be able to," Kort said.

"If you thought that would stop a man like him, you're a moron, Kort," Gibbs said.

"How long? How long have you known the truth about my nephew?" Jenny asked.

"A year," Kort freely admitted.

"You were saving the info. You know when you learned the truth that you were going to use it against him one day," Gibbs said knowingly.

Kort smirked. "And it worked brilliantly, didn't it. He did exactly what I expected He was too weak and scared to face you. He preferred to work with me and a man he would've rather seen dead than tell you the truth."

Jenny stepped closer so that they were inches apart from each other. "I'm already more than tempted to shoot you, so I wouldn't say another word to insult my nephew. I want every property you have listed for Acosta now."

"That won't be happening, Director. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the Agency," Kort said as he attempted to leave.

Jenny kept her position and Gibbs positioned himself in front of Kort too to keep him from leaving.

"Get out of my way," Kort demanded.

"YOu're not going anywhere. Agent DiNozzo, Officer David," Jenny called out without removing her glare from Kort. "Place Mr. Kort under arrest."

"Excuse me?" Kort asked as though he heard wrong.

"You're under arrest," Jenny told him.

"And what is it you think you're going to be able to charge me with," Kort asked with an amused tone.

"We'll start with kidnapping a federal agent, blackmailing that agent, and harboring a known fugitive," Jenny said.

"You can't be serious. Those charges will never stick," Kort said.

"We'll find out. Turn around and put your hands on the wall," Gibbs said.

Kort glared at them both for a minute before doing so. "You're going to regret this, Director."

"The only thing I might regret is not just shooting you," Jenny said.

Tony walked forward to search Kort. First,he took Kort's gun from his belt and held it out for Ziva, who came over and took it. Then he started patting him down. He stopped when he reached the other side of Kort's belt and pulled off another gun. He looked at it closely. "I think this is McGee's Sig."

"You disarmed him?!" Jenny asked in a rage.

"He tried to shoot Acosta," was all Kort said.

"If anything happens to my nephew, I'm going to kill you," Jenny promised.

Tony handed Ziva McGee's weapon and continued searching Kort. Once he was satisfied that the man was unarmed, he handcuffed him and read him his rights before leading him away.

"He's right, the charges probably won't stick," Gibbs said.

"No, but he'll suffer for a few days anyway. It hardly seems comparable to what Jasper has gone through and is still going through, but at least it's something," Jenny said.

"We'll find him. We don't really know what happened here," Gibbs said.

"Don't we? Acosta's decided to finish what he started. He was stopped from torturing my nephew to death years ago, so he's gonna finish that now," Jenny said with a shudder. She knew her nephew was in serious trouble right now. They had to find him fast because if they didn't, what she believed all these years would turn out to be true. Her nephew would be dead.


	12. Chapter 12

The team plus Jenny were all in the bullpen. A picture of the dead CIA agent and his history was up on the plasma. "His name was Thomas Adams. He's been with the CIA for five years. He left behind a wife and son," Tony said.

Jenny shook her head sadly. "Another family destroyed by Sebastian Acosta."

"And Kort," Gibbs said.

"Yeah," Jenny agreed.

"We checked Kort's cellphone. He did receive a call at around the time he said. It could be true that he was being truthful when he said he got that call from his informant," Ziva said.

"Didn't think he was lying anyway. McGee didn't finish what Kort wanted him to. He wouldn't have handed him over to Acosta," Gibbs said.

"I don't really care. Whether Kort wanted this to happen or not, it did. He's responsible for this whole thing," Jenny said with anger in her voice.

"I'm not arguing that point," Gibbs said.

"Well, he's in holding now, so he's definitely suffering somewhat," Tony said. He couldn't help but feel some satisfaction from arresting Kort and putting him into a cell. He hated Kort's guts. First the bastard had blown up his car, which he was very lucky not to be in, and now he was responsible for McGee being taken prisoner by a psycho.

"Not nearly enough," Jenny said. She was beyond pissed at Kort. He'd put Jasper in danger and used his fears against him. She already regretted not shooting him instead of arresting him.

"And most likely not for long. Kort will wrestle his way out," Ziva said.

"Weasle," Tony corrected.

"Maybe that's true, but I will get something out of it before he does," Jenny said. She'd arrested Kort for two reasons. Well, okay, at the time it was only one reason and that was because she was royally pissed and wanted him to suffer for putting her nephew in danger and exploiting his pain and fear, but after doing it, it occurred to her that it might also work to their advantage. She had no doubt that Kort would get away with what he'd done, but she was going to make the CIA work with her before he did.

"You think you can get us to help us find McG…" Tony trailed off when he went to say his teammate's name. The director had nearly bit Kort's head off when he said it because to her that wasn't who he was. He was her nephew. That seriously threw Tony. If he'd heard it from someone other than the director herself, he probably would've laughed it off as the most funny joke in the world. But he knew it was not a joke. Jenny was on the warpath. She was ready to mow down anybody who stopped her from saving McGee and she'd made it clear that it was not because he was just an agent.

Jenny could tell what Tony was thinking about. "Let's take this up to my office."

They all nodded and followed her upstairs. They all filed inside and as the last one in, Gibbs closed the door.

Jenny motioned towards the table before sitting down at the end near the door. Tony and Ziva took the two middle chairs across from each other and Gibbs sat at the other end. "Alright, we're not going to pretend that the two of you didn't hear everything I said to Kort earlier. Who you know as Timothy McGee is really my nephew, Jasper Shepard III. That's a fact that no one but he knew until very recently.

"This is the other part of what Kort was using against him," Ziva said. She knew the other part. McGee's tortured childhood played a large factor, but the truth about his connection to the director must have the main reason.

"Wait, what was the first part?" Tony wondered. He knew of no other reason McGee would submit to Kort, and actually he didn't really understand this reason either. Why hide that he was related to the director. It wasn't as if she had something against him. She'd been quite driven to save him since she learned the truth.

Jenny decided to ignore Tony's question for the time being and answer Ziva's. "Yes. He didn't want his identity to get out even to me and Kort used that against him.

"But why? Why wouldn't he want you to know the truth, Director," Tony asked.

"Let's leave it at severe trauma," Jenny said. She wasn't going to divulge her nephew's past. She didn't agree with him keeping the secret of his identity from her, but she certainly didn't blame him for wanting to keep what was done to him from the people he worked with. No one wanted those kind of things getting out. She was his family. She would do whatever it took to protect him and his privacy.

Tony didn't wanna leave it at that. He wanted to question the director further, but not even he was that bold. All it would result in was her biting his head off. Besides, it wasn't really hard to figure out on his own the kind of things McGee must have gone through. He'd seen the file on what Acosta had done to McGee's family. He'd murdered them all, his parents very brutally. Then McGee, or rather, Jasper Shepard, was presumed dead because he hadn't been seen since that night. He didn't just walk away on his own and hide at the age of twelve. He was removed from that house by Acosta and God only knew what was done to him.

"This conversation is not to be repeated to anyone outside your team. He is not going to come back to find that all his secrets have been outed to the entire agency. Is that understood?" Jenny asked firmly. She knew eventually she would have to disclose her relationship with Jasper to the agency, but that was not going to happen while he was out there fighting for his life if she could help it.

"Yes, Ma'am," Tony said immediately.

"Yes, Director," Ziva followed with right afterwards.

"Good. You're both free to go. Get back to work. Find him," Jenny ordered.

They both nodded and got up.

Jenny waited until they were both gone and then got up and went to her desk.

Gibbs got up as well. "You alright."

"Nope," Jenny answered honestly before taking a sip from a bottled water that was on her desk. She really wished there was some form of alcohol in it right now, but she conceded that intoxication wouldn't help right now.

"Don't give up, Jen. We will find him and he will be okay. He doesn't have permission to die and knows it," Gibbs said.

"Yes, because I'm sure Acosta will care about you demanding your people ask permission before they die," Jenny said dryly as she sat down behind her desk. "And I'm not giving up. I will never do that again."

Gibbs could hear the guilt in her voice. "Jen, it's not your fault that you thought he was dead. Anyone would've come to that conclusion."

"But he wasn't dead. If I had hung on, maybe I would've found him years ago and none of this would've happened," Jenny said. This had happened because Jasper couldn't truly face what happened to him. He couldn't deal with who he really was because that meant dealing more with what the person he was had suffered. Kort had used that against him and it led to this. If he'd been found earlier, Kort wouldn't have had any leverage to do that and none of this would be happening.

"First of all, you don't know that, and second, Kort would've found another way. We both know he wouldn't have given up until he got what he wanted. Besides, playing this game never helped anyone. Trust me, I've done the 'what if' thing before and all it does is torture you," Gibbs said.

Jenny rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I need to be alone for a while."

Gibbs nodded after a minute and headed out. He knew there was nothing else he could say right now.


	13. Chapter 13

Gibbs walked into Autopsy to see Ducky working on the body of the CIA agent, Thomas Adams. He'd had the FBI transfer the body to them. Hey, Duck."

"Jethro, I knew it wouldn't be long before you showed up. I'm far from finished, but I don't expect many surprises. Mr. Adams suffered multiple stabwounds to the abdomen," Ducky said.

"How about TOD?" Gibbs asked. Establishing time of death would give them a better grasp on exactly when Acosta had taken McGee.

"I'd say between eleven and twelve this morning. I hear that Timothy may have been taken by the same person who killed this man," Ducky said.

"You heard right. McGee was taken hostage by Sebastian Acosta not long afterwards," Gibbs said.

Ducky sighed. "I was hoping that that rumor was incorrect. I've also heard that the director has taken this whole thing a bit personally."

Gibbs debated for a minute. It was very personal information that he knew Jenny didn't want becoming public before she at least got a chance to talk to McGee, but Ducky cared a lot about McGee and deserved to know. Besides, Jenny had just said not to discuss it outside the team. Ducky was a part of their team as far as Gibbs was concerned. "Yeah, she has, with good reason. McGee is her nephew."

Ducky looked at Gibbs in surprise, not at all expecting that answer. "Good God! You're sure?"

Gibbs nodded curtly. "Circumstances make sense and his DNA is familial match to hers. Oh, and Kort admitted to using it against him."

"Jennifer didn't know about this?" Ducky asked surprised.

"No, not until yesterday. She hadn't seen him since he was a boy and he uses a different name now," Gibbs said.

"Why would he do that?" Ducky asked in utter confusion.

Gibbs began explaining about what Acosta had done to McGee's family and then to him when he was a child. "He's messed up, Ducky. What that son of a bitch did to him and his family ruined his life. He doesn't wanna face it. He's trying to forget."

Ducky was horrified. No, actually, that wasn't a strong enough word. He wasn't even sure there was a strong enough word for how tragic and evil what he just heard was. "That is awful, Jethro. How does one so young survive something so terrible?"

"He's stronger than anyone gave him credit for, that's for sure. He's still dealing with it though. Well, actually, he's not and that's a big problem. He's trying to hide from it. But that's something that can only be dealt with after we find him," Gibbs said.

"How is Jennifer handling all of this?" Ducky said. He couldn't see her handling it well. In less than twenty-four hours, she'd found out that one of her subordinates was family, that he'd been severely tortured as a boy, and was now in the hands of his tormentor again.

Gibbs sighed. "She's angry and scared. She's captivating on anger now, but I don't think she'll be able to keep that up much longer. He's the only family she's got left and she's terrified for him. She's headed for a meltdown soon."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny was in her office with the Assistant Director of the CIA. "Well, Assistant Director, Mathias, I guess I have finally gotten enough of your boss' attention to send you as opposed to a lackey, though I still can't help noticing that he doesn't have the balls to show up himself."

"You need to release Kort," Mathias said in a commanding tone.

"I need to do no such thing. Kort kidnapped one of my agents and placed him in grave danger," Jenny said.

"KIdnapped? That's a stretch, Director Shepard. He was not held at gunpoint. He left voluntarily," Mathias said.

"I don't call blackmail voluntary," Jenny said through gritted teeth.

"And the charge of harboring a fugitive? Sebastian Acosta is a CIA informant and you know that," Mathias said.

"I've seen no paperwork reflecting that. Acosta is a murderer amongst many more things. He's wanted everywhere," Jenny said.

Mathias pulled a folded document out of his pocket and handed it to Jenny. "Well, you've seen it now."

Jenny placed the document on her desk without even looking at it. "Fine, but the other charges still stand. Kort blackmailed one of my agents out of here and he will be held accountable for ti."

"Oh, please! This is not about one of your 'agents', Director. You are making this personal, both because of Acosta and because of the particular agent this involves," Mathias said.

Jenny sent him a withering glare. "So you're admitting that the CIA, and not just Kort, knew exactly who Agent McGee was to me and said nothing."

"It's not our job to solve your family problems, Director Shepard," Mathias said.

"You pompous little bastard! This whole charade was on all of you. You instructed Kort to force my nephew to work with him. You are responsible for his current predicament and unless you do something about it, you are all going to go down for it," Jenny swore.

"Is that a threat?" Mathias asked.

"I don't make threats, Assistant Director Mathias. It is a guarantee. I'm sure your boss has already told you about my warnings to go public," Jenny said.

Mathias gave her an arrogant smirk before pulling out another document and placing it in front of her. "Yes, he has and that's our response to it."

This time, Jenny took it, unfolded it, and started to read.

"You are prohibited from mentioning Acosta to the press or making any baseless accusation of kidnapping by the Agency," Mathias said.

Jenny just stared for a minute, taking in the assistant director's demeanor. He was very confident. He thought he had beaten her. Then she laughed humorlessly and tore up the document.

Mathias glared at her. "You think I'm joking? You violate that order and you will lose everything. Your career at NCIS will be over!"

"No, I don't think this is a joke. I find nothing remotely funny about this entire situation. I do, however, think you're an idiot if you think I give a damn about my job! You can hand me as many gag orders as you want, I don't care. I don't care about anything but the safety of my nephew. I will gladly give up everything I have to see him come home," Jenny told him. In the grand scheme of things, NCIS meant nothing to her. It was everything before. Nothing had been more important than her career. But that was when she had no family left. Now she had Jasper and she would do anything she had to to protect him.

Mathias blanched slightly. He wasn't expecting Shepard to completely sacrifice her career. Everything he knew about her told him that she valued her position too much for that. "You're bluffing.

Jenny gave him a smirk of her own and picked up her phone. "I think I should arrange that press conference now."

"No, wait! What do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Jenny put the phone down. "I want everything you have on Sebastian Acosta. I want every property that you know about and every known associate's name. Basically, I want everything you know about him made available to me."

"Fine," Mathias said grudgingly. "But you have to release Kort and agree not mention any of this to the press."

"Agreed. Kort will be released as soon as all information is in my hands. Oh, and you have one hour to get it to me," Jenny said.

"You can't be serious. It'll take more time than that," Mathias said.

"No, it won't because if it's not here in one hour, I _will_ go to the press," Jenny warned him.

"Deal," he said after a minute.

"Now, get out," Jenny said.

Mathias glared at her once more and then headed for the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim groaned as he began to wake up. He had a massive headache. He could seriously feel his head pounded it hurt so bad. His arms also hurt like hell. He felt them up above his shoulders. He tried to move them, but something strong and cold was keeping them in place.

Soon Tim remembered what had happened before he passed out. He'd found that agent dead in Kort's apartment, killed by Acosta. It hit him like a ton of bricks. Acosta had knocked him out and taken him hostage again. He immediately popped his eyes open and started struggling to get his hands free. It didn't work though. His hands were tightly chained above him.

"No, no! This can't happen again!" Tim exclaimed in a panic as memories of his last experience in a place like this with the exact same man came flooding back. He could not go through this again. He could not live through that terror a second time. He had to get out. Unfortunately, he had no way of doing that. He was defenseless. Well, that wasn't completely true. He could feel his knife currently tucked into his sock, but he had no way of getting to it or using it.

Tim struggled helplessly to get free. He had to get the hell out of there. He knew what Acosta could and would do to him. Despite his attempts to keep the memories at bay, he remembered well what that man had done to him. And now he couldn't even push the memories away like he'd been able to in the past. It was like they were happening all over again.

Tim soon heard someone begin to come in. He went completely still until the door opened, bringing with it a sudden burst of light. He immediately cringed and shut his eyes.

Acosta came into the room with an evil smirk on his face. "I'm glad to see you're awake, Jasper. I was getting a bit antsy. I wanted to play, but it's not very fun with the unconscious."

Tim's eyes were open again by this point and he was staring at Acosta's hand. Actually, he was staring at what was in his hand. It was a hammer, and Tim could just imagine what he planned to do with it. Actually, no, he didn't have to imagine. He knew. It wasn't the first time Acosta had used a hammer on him.

Acosta followed the younger man's eyes and laughed as he walked closer. "I see you've seen our first toy to play with. I know we've used it before, but I had fun with it in the past and I think you enjoyed it too.

Tim shut his eyes again and willed himself not to scream. He didn't want to give Acosta that satisfaction. Of course, that went straight out the window the second the hammer was slammed into his right kneecap.


	14. Chapter 14

Tony and Ziva were both combing through the papers the CIA had brought over a few hours earlier, per the director's orders. "Wow, this is really a twisted SOB."

"I will not argue that," Ziva said without looking up. She was busy looking up the names of Acosta's associates.

"The Shepards were far from his first murder victims. I guess Abby and I must have missed a bunch of stuff when we did our research. We got kind of distracted when we realized the director had such a personal connection to the investigation," Tony said.

"I am not surprised. The Shepards' murders were extremely brutal and without feeling. It would be shocking if they turned out to be his first," Ziva said.

"This doesn't look good for McGee," Tony said nervously.

Just then, Jenny descended down the stairs and came over to them. "I want an update.

Gibbs also came through at that very moment. "Someone better have something."

Tony winced as he looked between his two supervisors. It hard enough when just Gibbs demanded answers that they didn't have, but now he was being double teamed by him and the director. "Uh, well, we're still looking. We're doing everything we can to..."

"I may have something," Ziva said.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he was no longer at the mercy of his team leader and the director of the entire agency.

"I have been looking up the names of Acosta's associates. Most are either dead or still at large, but I found one," Ziva said before putting the information up on the plasma.

They all walked over to see it.

"This is Lucas Martinez. He was imprisoned ten years ago money laundering and drug trafficking. He is serving time about an hour away from here. Should we have him transferred?" Ziva asked.

"No. That will take at least a day. I'll go myself," Jenny said before heading for the stairs.

"We'll go," Gibbs corrected as he followed her.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

About an hour or so later, Gibbs and Jenny were sitting in an interview room as a man with dark hair and dark skin wearing a prison jumpsuit was brought in and seated in front of them.

"Let me know if you need anything," the guard said to Jenny and Gibbs before leaving the room.

"Mr. Martinez," Gibbs greeted.

"Who are you people?" Martinez asked.

"NCIS. This is Special Agent Gibbs and I'm Director Shepard," Jenny said.

Martinez couldn't hide the surprise and recognition when he heard Jenny's name. "I wanna go back to my cell. I have nothing to say to you."

"I see you know the name 'Shepard', no doubt because of your boss," Jenny said.

"I have nothing to say," he repeated.

"Oh, you've got plenty to say and you will say it," Gibbs said in a threatening tone.

"You think you intimidate me, Agent Gibbs? Have you ever met Sebastian Acosta? He puts the most dangerous man you've ever met to shame," Martinez said.

"You're the idiot who took up with him," Gibbs said.

"I didn't know what he was truly capable of. I had no delusions that he was capable of killing, but there's a difference between murder and the brutal decimation of a family of four."

"You were there? You saw him kill my brother and his family?" Jenny asked with rage in her voice and eyes.

"I...I didn't say that," Martinez backpedaled.

"You son of a bitch, you were there!" Jenny growled.

Gibbs put a supportive and restraining hand on her arm. While this piece of garbage certainly deserved his ass kicked, they needed him right now to help find Tim.

"As I've already told you, I have nothing to say. And if you wanna stay alive, you'd drop this. The last person who tried to take him down was brutally tortured and murdered along with his family," Martinez said.

"And you did nothing to stop it," Jenny said through gritted teeth.

"Damn right! I would've been next if I even tried, which is exactly why I won't be saying a word now. I have a family too," Martinez said.

"You have kids? You have a son?" Gibbs asked.

Martinez nodded.

"Jasper Shepard had a son too," Gibbs said.

"I know. There's not a day that goes by that I don't see that boy's face," Martinez said.

"Well, you're going to see it again," Jenny said as she pulled a picture from her jacket pocket and placed it in front of the man.

Martinez shuddered as he stared at the picture. "What's the point of showing this to me. This kid is one of the reasons I won't help you. All I need is for my own kid to suffer his fate."

"You're not like Acosta. You're still a waste of space, but you have a conscience. You hate what happened to that kid. He's haunted you for almost twenty years. You said yourself you see his face every day. Make it right," Gibbs said.

"How do you propose I do that. I can't bring him back," he said.

"You don't have to. He's not dead," Jenny said.

"You are delusional if you believe that, Director. Acosta kept him alive after that night, but there is no way it would last eighteen years. "

"He escaped. He got away and he managed to evade Acosta this whole time, but now he's in his clutches. You can help save him," Gibbs said.

Martinez laughed. "Save him? There's no saving him. Even if he's alive, you can't save him. What that kid saw alone would scar him for life. Let's not even get into what Acosta planned and probably did to him. He's ruined."

Jenny couldn't help but be rattled by the man's words. She'd tried not to think about the hell her nephew went through until he was at least safe, but it was nearly impossible, especially when he was in the exact situation. She knew he was seriously messed up. But she refused to believed he was, as Martinez said, 'ruined'. In fact she knew he wasn't. She'd seen him every day for two years. He might be messed up, but he was also a strong, caring young man and an amazing agent. "We didn't ask for your opinion on my nephew's state of mind, Mr. Martinez. Help us find him!"

Martinez sighed. "I don't even know where Acosta is, so I couldn't even help you if I wanted to."

"You know how he thinks. Tell us what you know," Gibbs demanded.

Martinez seemed to debating with his conscience.

Gibbs picked up the photo and held it up. "This boy had haunted you for years. You want him to for the rest of your life?" Gibbs asked.

Martinez sighed. "You have to swear that this conversation never happened."

"Agreed," Jenny said immediately.

"I don't know where he is, but I might be able to help you figure out where he might go. If taking your boy wasn't planned and it was something that just fell into Acosta's lap, he won't go far and he will probably be alone. That'll work in your favor. But you'll have to find him quick. Knowing Acosta, he'll prolong killing him for a little while to punish him for getting away, but he won't leave him alive very long," Martinez said.

"How long?" Jenny said with fear in her voice.

"Can't say for sure, but he usually takes a few hours with a kill, torturing them for a bit. I'd say he'll let your boy live a day or two at most," Martinez said.

Jenny stood up. "Let's go. We don't have long."

Gibbs got up and followed her to the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim screamed and convulsed in pain as electricity flowed through him from the taser that had been shoved into his neck. Acosta had come in to torture him several times. He would torture him for a bit and then leave him be for... Well, he didn't know how long, but wasn't long enough.

Tim was in agony pretty much from head to toe. Acosta had done a number on him. He'd slammed a hammer into both his kneecaps and his feet multiple times. Tim was pretty sure they were all broken, maybe even shattered. If there was any hope of escaping it was gone now. Even if he managed to get his arms free of the chains, he would still be unable to walk, and he doubted that Acosta was going to let him live long enough this time for his broken feet and knees to heal at all.

Acosta had also kicked him several times in the stomach, probably breaking several ribs and broken two of his fingers. The man had been just as brutal as he was last time and Tim was sure he was not done.

Acosta smirked at Tim. "You are not as vocal as last time. You're screaming good of course, but there's no pleading this time. Why's that?"

"Go to hell," Tim said in a pained voice.

Acosta laughed and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a switchblade. "Let's keep going."

Tim shut his eyes, knowing what was coming. It wasn't long before he felt a sharp pain in his arm and screamed out in pain.

Acosta continued to laugh. "I do love it when you scream. I've enjoyed it with everyone, but especially you. I think it was because of how young and innocent you always looked. That's why I kept you alive so long last time too. I enjoyed watching that innocence slowly drift away. I need to remember that I can't wait so long this time though. No, our fun will end tonight," he said before sticking the knife in his leg this time, earning him another scream.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony and Ziva were going through files to find out if Acosta had any properties near DC. The director and Gibbs had gotten back not too long ago and told them to look for someplace nearby. "Anything, Ziva?"

"Acosta does not have anything in DC anymore. He had a property years ago, but it was abandoned years ago and sold. There are a couple of places a couple of states away. I will call and have the local police check them out," Ziva said before picking up her phone.

Just then Abby came through the bullpen. "Any news?"

"Not yet, Abs. We're checking out Acosta's properties, but he has a lot. Unfortunately, none of them are in DC," Tony said.

"Wouldn't he leave DC anyway?" Abby asked.

Tony shook his head. "Not according to one of his former employees. He says that since this wasn't actually planned, he'll stick close and will probably be working alone."

Ziva suddenly had a thoughtful look on her face and hung up her phone. "He would also know that we would look everywhere for him, including searching all his properties. So would it not be more likely that he would choose a place he does not own?""

"Like what? Where's he gonna find a place to torture somebody to death," Tony asked.

"An abandoned building or something. Is there anything like that near Kort's secret apartment?" Abby asked.

"I don't know. I guess we should find out, I'm not really sure how though. It's not like abandoned buildings are advertised," Tony said.

"Out of my way. I'll do it," Abby said as she rushed forward.

Tony got up and stepped aside so Abby could take his seat. Once she did, he leaned over her shoulder to see what she was doing.

Abby did a search for places in the area. She looked at a few of the icons that popped up and then clicked on one. "There's an abandoned warehouse about a block away from Kort's place.

Ziva immediately picked up the phone to get the director down there.

Tony, meanwhile grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down the address. "What are the odds that he was that close the whole time?"

"A man like Acosta probably would have found that amusing," Ziva said after hanging up the phone. "The director and Gibbs are on their way down.

Tony pocketed the address and then grabbed his gear.

Jenny and Gibbs made it down seconds later. "What do you got?" Gibbs asked.

"Possible location, Boss. I've got the address, it's not far from Kort's apartment," Tony said.

"Let's move," Jenny said before rushing towards the elevator.

"Ziva, you're driving. I wanna get there as quick as possible," Gibbs said, knowing she'd get them there the quickest.

"I will get us there under an hour," Ziva said. It was technically a two hour drive, but she could make it in much less.

"DiNozzo, call the local LEOs," Gibbs said as they all rushed to catch up to Jenny. He was not going to make Tim wait any longer to be rescued. God only knew what had already happened to him. He wanted him out of that hell by the time they got there.

"On it, Boss," Tony said, having already taken his phone out.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim groaned in pain. He hadn't felt so much agony in eighteen years. Along with the broken bones and possibly ribs, he also had multiple stabwounds. There were the ones in his arm and leg, as well as another to his side. Acosta had given him that one the last time he came through. It wasn't deep enough to kill him, at least not right away, but it hurt hell. He tried not to move, but that was almost impossible given the way he was restrained.

Tim wanted it all to stop. He longed for the moment when Acosta would finish him off, just as he had years earlier. He was grateful that it would end tonight. He could not survive this. Even if by some miracle, he was rescued, he knew he wouldn't be able to deal with the aftermath. He'd barely lived through it the first time. He couldn't do it again. At this point, he preferred not to be rescued.

Just then, the door opened again. Tim prayed that this was it. He prayed Acosta wasn't there to torture him more, but to put him out of his misery.

Acosta smiled at him evilly. "Well, this sight is positively amazing. I wish we could continue it, but it's time to wrap it up."

Tim sighed in relief. The horror that had been most of his life was going to end now and that gave him solace. If there was an afterlife, he could be reunited with his family and hopefully let go of all the pain. If not, well, it would still be better than this. The only thing he really hoped was that Jenny never learned who he really was. She didn't need that pain. Let him just die as Timothy McGee.

Acosta took out a gun and pointed it at Tim.

Tim closed his eyes and waited for his life to stop. Before that could happen though, there was a loud bang he knew well. The breaking down of a door. He opened his eyes just in time to see the SWAT team enter the room.

"Police, drop the gun!" one of them yelled.

Acosta raised the gun higher ane want to shoot Tim, only to be shot himself.

Tim watched as the man who took everything from him fell lifeless to the floor by his feet. For a minute he wondered if he was imagining it. He was in enough pain that he thought he could be delirious. But when one of the officers came forward and released his hands, he knew it was real.

The officer looked at Tim in horror. "Good God. Let the paramedics in!"

With his arms free, Tim was able to slump against the wall. He continued to stare at Acosta. The man who murdered his family and tortured him to the brink twice was dead. He was satisfied with that. The world was finally free from that man and his family finally received justice. Tim just wished he was dead too.

"You're gonna be okay, Agent McGee. The medics will be in soon," the officer said.

"Why do I always come out of these things?" Tim asked no one in particular.

"What?" the officer asked confused.

"I should've died tonight. Actually, I should've died when I was a boy. For some reason the universe won't grant me that peace," Tim said.

"You don't mean that, man. You'll be okay. We're gonna get you to a hospital," he said.

Tim didn't respond. He closed his eyes and began to pass out.


	16. Chapter 16

As promised, Ziva managed to get the team and the director to the warehouse in under an hour with her fast driving. She parked the car behind the many cop cars on the street and quickly made their way to the warehouse to find their coworker slash nephew. Once they got onto the property, they flashed their badges at an officer that walked towards them.

"Special Agent McGee?" Gibbs asked the officer.

"They should be bringing out any minute," the officer said.

"Is he okay?" Jenny asked worried.

"He's alive," he said.

Jenny didn't like the way he'd answered that, but she didn't have time to question it, as at that moment, two medics came out wheeling a stretcher. She immediately ran over to see her nephew lying on the stretcher unconscious. He was strapped to a backboard with padding surrounding his head and a brace around his neck. He also had an oxygen mask around his mouth and nose, bandages to his arm, side, and leg, and ice packs attached to his right hand, knees and feet.

"Oh, my God," Jenny said in horror as she looked down at her very broken nephew

"You know him, Ma'am," one of the paramedics asked.

"He's my nephew. Is he going to be okay?" Jenny asked.

"We have to get him to the hospital. He's lost a lot of blood from stabwounds He's also likely got some broken bones and there's evidence of possible head trauma," he said.

"What are his chances," Tony asked.

Jenny turned around at his voice. She hadn't noticed Team Gibbs behind her, though it made sense that they followed her over.

"I can't say right now. We need to get him to the hospital," the medic said urgently.

"I'm going with him," Jenny said, leaving no room for discussion in the matter.

"We'll follow and meet you there," Gibbs said before looking right at his injured agent. It was hard seeing him like that. Out of all his people, seeing McGee hurt was the worst. He just looked so innocent and young that it was hard to see him injured so badly.

"Hang on, Probie. You're gonna be alright," Tony said as he touching his coworker's leg.

"Yes, you must hold on, McGee. Do not leave us," Ziva begged.

With that, the paramedics started to wheel him to the ambulance with Jenny following them.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The team and Jenny were in the waiting room of the hospital waiting to hear news on Tim's condition. Tony, Ziva, and Gibbs were all sitting down While Jenny was a few feet away leaning against the wall.

Gibbs looked at Jenny for a minute and then got up and walked over to her. "You okay?"

Jenny shuddered. "He was so broken, Jethro. I've never seen him like that, not as McGee and not as Jasper. You know, it finally sunk in when I was in the ambulance with him, who he really is. I mean, I knew who he was and I'd more than accepted it. He even stopped being McGee to me the second I learned the truth, but I never really had time to think about it and let it sink in."

"It was about saving him. You didn't have time to really think about much else," Gibbs said understandingly. About the only other thing Jenny could think about other than saving her nephew was her guilt for not knowing the truth. She didn't really have a lot of time to reconcile her nephew with the agent under her. She didn't allow herself to even think about it.

"Yeah. But when I was in the ambulance with him, holding his hand, it all became very clear. This was not just some agent that I was responsible for. This was my nephew. This was the boy who used to call me up to talk about everything. He talked to me about things he wouldn't speak of even to his parents," Jenny said.

Gibbs smiled slightly. "Isn't that how it usually is? One of the joy's of being an aunt or uncle instead of a parent is that you get to have the fun, friendly relationship and then send them home to Mom and Dad when they got difficult."

"Only Jasper was never really difficult. He was always a pretty well-behaved kid. If he was ever going to reach the rebellious stage, he never got the chance," Jenny said sadly. She would've gladly seen her nephew become difficult if it would've saved him and the rest of their loved ones from such a horrible fate.

"I know it probably doesn't make much difference, but Acosta's dead. One of the officers on the scene told me. They killed him to save McGee's life," Gibbs told her.

"Good. I actually hadn't given him much thought. I was too wrapped up in what happened to Jasper to think about Acosta," Jenny said. That would've only lasted until her nephew was out of the woods. Then she would be looking to make sure he never hurt anyone she cared about again.

Jenny was grateful to know that Acosta was dead. He could never hurt anyone she loved every again. Unfortunately, he'd already done enough damage. He nephew had been messed up by Acosta before all this. The murders of his parents and sister, plus the first round of torture when he was a boy saw to that. She couldn't even imagine what round two had now done to him.

Just then, a doctor came out. "Timothy McGee."

Gibbs and Jenny immediately went over to the woman. Tony and Ziva got up and followed.

"Are any of you family?" the doctor asked.

"I am. He's my nephew," Jenny said.

"Okay, well, I'm Doctor Wiley. I have been treating your nephew since he got here," the woman said.

"Jenny Shepard. How is her?" Jenny asked.

"Well, he's still unconscious, but he's stable. He lost quite a bit of blood, but we were able to stop it. There were no vital organs hit. The stabwounds he suffered don't appear to have done any lasting damage. He does have evidence of slight head trauma. We'll have to take him for a CAT scan soon and we'll also need to do Xrays. There's evidence of quite a few possible broken bones and probably some broken ribs as well," Doctor Wiley said.

"But he'll be okay?" Jenny asked hopefully.

"He will survive. Now the EMTs told me that he was tortured relentlessly for the last several hours. It's my opinion that you should get him to talk to somebody about that. I've seen what this kind of thing can do mentally to a person," she said.

"Believe me, I will do everything I can to get him through it. Can I see him?" Jenny asked.

"For a few moments, but we'll have to take him for those tests. Just you though. Right now I can only allow family in. I'll take you to him now," she said.

Jenny nodded and followed her


	17. Chapter 17

Jenny walked into her nephew's hospital room and walked over to him. She sat down in the chair by his bed and placed her hand on top of his, being careful not to touch his probably broken fingers. "Jasper? It's Aunt Jen. I know you haven't been able to call me that for a long time, but it's what I will always be for you. I will be here for you when you wake up and after that for the rest of my life. I'm so sorry wasn't there before. I should've been. At the very least, I should've known who you were when I saw you the first time at NCIS. Maybe this wouldn't have happened.

Tim was still unconscious, so naturally, he didn't respond.

Jenny sighed. She felt really guilty for not being there for her nephew in the past, and not just after she met him at NCIS. She felt guilty for giving up so quickly when he was a child and thought dead. She regretted that she wasn't there to help him through the deaths of his parents and sister, and the torture he endured. "I can't change that I wasn't there for you. I can't change the fact that you suffered alone before and after escaping that madman the first time, but you won't be alone again, I promise. I _will_ be here this time. You won't be alone."

Just then Jenny heard someone enter the room. She turned around to see Gibbs there. She smiled at him slightly. "I should've known the words 'family only' would have no effect on you."

Gibbs smirked and made his way over. "You know me well, Jen. No one was keeping me out."

"I think he'd want you here. He trusts you," Jenny said.

Gibbs made his way over to the other side of his agent and put his hand on top of his head. "Hey, Tim. Jen's right, you're not alone. She's here for you and so am I and the rest of the team. We're gonna get you through this. And you can be sure that Acosta will never hurt you again. He's in hell where he belongs.

Jenny watched as her nephew continued to sleep. "A part of me wishes he'd wake up, but the other part of me is glad he's asleep. He probably needs it."

"Yeah. Been a hell of day.

"They don't expect him to wake up anyway. The doctor told me on the way here that they'd given him some powerful drugs. He'll be out until morning," Jenny said.

Just then the door opened. Both agents turned to see a nurse enter the room. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave for a bit. We need to get him ready for tests,"

Jenny turned to her nephew. "I'll be back, Jasper, I promise. As soon as you're done, I'll be back here with you," she said before reluctantly getting up and heading for the door. Gibbs followed her.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny was sitting in the waiting room waiting to be let back in to see her nephew. Gibbs had gone off in search of decent coffee and Tony and Ziva went home. both of them put up a fight about leaving, but Gibbs had made it an order and told them they could come back tomorrow, as well as the rest of the team. Jenny had added that they wouldn't be able to see their friend tonight anyway.

Suddenly Jenny heard a voice call out to her. "Ms. Shepard?"

Jenny turned to see her nephew's doctor and immediately stood up. "Hi. Have you finished your tests? Is my nephew okay?"

"He's back in his room. Why don't we talk in my office?" Doctor Wiley asked.

Those words left Jenny with dread. If the doctor couldn't tell her right here what was up she knew it had to be bad. Regardless, she followed the woman down the hall to her office.

"Have a seat," Doctor Wiley said before taking her seat behind her desk.

Jenny sat across from her. "Please tell me what's going on."

"Well, first of all, I want to assure you that there doesn't seem to be any kind of serious head trauma. There are no bleeds or swelling. He got lucky in that aspect."

Jenny nodded, grateful for that, but she knew the woman was far from done.

"We checked out his ribs. He does have a couple cracked ribs. He'll be in some pain there for a little bit, but he'll recover. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends. Xrays show that Tim has several broken bones. His index and middle finger both have fractures. Those will heal in time on their own. The rest won't be that easy. His feet and news received substantial blows which caused some very severe breaks. His left foot is alright. It sustained two simple fractures and one that requires a pin to be placed surgically to get it to heal right. His right foot and both kneecaps are going going to be far more complicated,' Doctor Wiley said.

"How so?" Jenny asked in trepidation.

"Tim sustained what we call comminuted fractures," she said.

"What is that?" Jenny asked.

"It's a very complex fracture. It means that the bone has broken into several pieces. Essentially, it means the bones have been crushed," Doctor Wiley answered.

"Oh my God. This happened to his knees and his foot?" Jenny asked in horror. She could only imagine the kind of force that had to be applied to create such an injury, and it had happened more than once. What had that SOB done to Jasper.

"Yes. His foot I'm not as worried about. We will have to go in fuse the bones back together, but the pieces are big enough that it should be easy to do. The healing process will be prolonged because of this type of break, but I think it will heal completely. The knees, however, are a different story. They were shattered into a lot of small pieces and it will be impossible to reconstruct them all," she explained.

"What will you do then? You have to do something?" Jenny said.

"We'd have to remove the fragments. They would do him more harm than good being there."

"But removing his bones would cause even more problems wouldn't it. He needs those bones to walk. Is that what you're trying to tell me? That he won't walk again?" Jenny asked.

Doctor Wiley sighed. "I don't know if he'll walk again. At this point it's possible that he won't. It's not just this injury itself. It seems that he's injured these areas before. That could very well be problematic in his recovery."

"Oh, God," Jenny whispered. She couldn't believe this was happening. Not only had Jasper suffered extreme torment in the last day, and for even longer when he was a kid, but now he was going to have to live with constant reminders of it. His life was never going to be the same.

"Let's try not to jump to conclusions. I am not saying for certain that he won't walk again," she said.

"With all due respect, Doctor, it sounds like that's exactly what you're saying. You've basically said that this injury as already destroyed many of the bones in his knees. How is he supposed to come back from that?" Jenny asked.

"Ms. Shepard…"

"No! Stop beating around the bush! I want your opinion on what's going to happen here. What are the chances of him coming out of this with a full recovering, meaning that he will walk and run just as well as he did yesterday?" Jenny asked.

"There is no chance," Doctor Wiley said after a moment. "Even if he does regain the ability to walk, it won't be like it was yesterday. Chances are he'll only be able to walk for a limited time and only with assistance. I'm sorry."

Jenny sighed and rubbed her eyes. This was unbelievable. Apparently the world was not done ripping this young man apart. He lost his family at the age of twelve, was forced out of his home by a madman, and was tortured for a year. He spent several years after that trying to forget it, unsuccessfully, and then he was forced to endure several more hours of said torture. Now it seemed he would lose the ability to walk and do his job. How much more was he expected to take? When did he finally get to rest?

After several moments of silence, Jenny looked up at the doctor again and spoke. "When will you take him into surgery?"

"Tomorrow after he wakes up. We'll explain what's going on and then get him into surgery as soon as possible," The doctor said.

"I'll tell him myself," Jenny said. She didn't know how she was going to explain this Jasper, but she would figure it out. It was better for him to hear it from her than a stranger.

"Okay."

Jenny got up and headed for the door.


	18. Chapter 18

Gibbs was standing outside the hospital the next day with a cup of coffee in his hand. Tony had just called to tell him that he and the rest of the team would be there soon and he decided to meet them.

The team, including Ducky, Abby, and Palmer made there was over soon. "Ziva dear, I mean no offense, but I think I'd prefer someone else drive on the way back," Ducky said.

"I second that," Jimmy said with a sick and freaked out look on his face. He'd been crammed in the back with Tony and Abby and had nothing to hang onto as Ziva did about a million miles per hour. He'd feared for his life.

"It was not that fast," Ziva said.

Tony snorted. "Yeah, and the sky's really red instead of blue."

"Hello, Jethro. How's Timothy?" Ducky asked when they made it over to him.

"He's still out. They gave him some powerful drugs. He should wake up sometime today," Gibbs said.

"I assume Jennifer is with him," Ducky said.

"Yeah. She hasn't left his side," Gibbs said.

"Is Timmy gonna be okay, Gibbs?" Abby asked.

"Depends on what you mean, Abs. He'll survive, but he'll be far from okay for a long time," Gibbs said sadly.

"I can only imagine what hours of torture must have done to him, and that doesn't even take into consideration that he's suffered this fate before," Ducky said.

"It gets worse, Duck. The docs don't think he's gonna walk again," Gibbs said. Jenny had told him last night what the doctor told her. He'd been angry as hell by it. He had half a mind to go find Trent Kort and break _his_ feet and kneecaps. With Acosta gone, Kort was the person alive responsible for this. He'd put Tim in the position to be Acosta's victim again. He needed to suffer for that.

"What?" Tony asked in shock.

"No. That has to be wrong. The doctor messed up," Abby said in denial.

"Jethro, exactly what happened?" Ducky asked.

"He broke a lot of bones in his knees and feet. Jen said the doctor told her something about the bones in his knees and one of his feet being crushed into several pieces," Gibbs said.

"Oh, no," Ducky said. He knew exactly the kind of breaks his friend was explaining about. It was the most complicated type of fracture a person could experience.

"Apparently they're not gonna be able to mend all the bones and they'll have to take some out," Gibbs said.

"Yes, that makes sense. If the fragments are too small, they won't be able to piece them together and it will just cause him further problems," Ducky said.

"Well, that combined with the fact that he's hurt these areas before makes the doc think that it's likely that he won't walk again and if he does, it won't be anywhere near like it was before," Gibbs finished.

"He won't be able to be a field agent anymore," Tony said sadly. That was all McGee had wanted. That had been clear since the day he Tony met him. He was very green when they first met, but determined. He wanted to be a full time field agent. He didn't want to just be the guy sitting at a desk. Now that was all he would ever be.

"No," Gibbs agreed with Tony. McGee's job, as it was now, was over. He would either have to spend the rest of his career at a desk or find some other form of work. It was sad and very unfair.

"But the doctor could be wrong. He could recover fully," Abby said hopefully.

"That's highly unlikely, Abigail. This kind of injury would be hard for him to recover from on its own. If he injured it once before, it would be even worse," Ducky said.

"How will we tell him this?" Ziva asked. She knew this would devastate their friend. It would devastate anyone to hear that they suddenly would be unable to do things that they used to do everyday, like walking and even standing. Forget his job, McGee would not even be able to walk down a flight of stairs.

"Jenny and I are gonna tell him," Gibbs said. Jenny had already planned to tell Tim what was going on. Gibbs had told her he'd be there to help her.

"When can we see him?" Abby asked.

"I don't know, Abs. It's up to him. He may not be up to seeing everyone for a bit," Gibbs said.

"Well, we will of course respect his wishes," Ducky said.

"Let's go inside. No reason to stand out here all day," Gibbs said before leading the way into the building.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

After showing the team to the waiting room, Gibbs went to McGee's room to check on him and Jenny. He found Tim still asleep in his hospital bed and Jenny just beginning to stir on the small couch a few feet away. "Hey, Jen. How'd you sleep?"

"As well as anybody could on an uncomfortable hospital couch knowing a member of their family is in trouble," Jenny said. It wasn't really the couch that caused her trouble sleeping. That certainly didn't help, but it was more worry over what Jasper was going to go through for the rest of his life.

"You at least get a couple hours?" Gibbs asked as he walked over and sat next to her.

"Here and there. It's hard. I'm worried about him," Jenny said as she looked at her nephew.

"So am I," Gibbs said. He knew that the torture his agent endured alone was enough to cause him immense pain. The news that he would never fully recover physically would make things much worse.

"All I've been able to think about all night is what this is all going to do to him. It's not just his ability to walk that I'm worried about. This is the second time he's suffered at the hands of Sebastian Acosta. How's he supposed to come back from that?" Jenny asked

Just then, Tim started to groan as he began to wake up.

Gibbs and Jenny both ran to his side. Jenny was about to grab his hand, but thought better of it. Her nephew was waking up for the first time after just being brutally tortured. There was a very good chance he would have a bad reaction to being suddenly touched and not even knowing who's doing it.

"McGee? That's it, wake up," Gibbs said gently.

"Boss?" Tim asked in a weak voice without having opened his eyes yet.

"Yeah. How you feeling?"

"Felt worse," Tim mumbled while groaning. He was still in a serious amount of pain, but it wasn't the worst he'd ever felt.

Jenny shuddered. The scary part was that she had no trouble believing that. This last time seemed create the most permanent physical damage, but she had no doubt that her nephew had felt worse pain, both physical and emotional. He was with Acosta for a year last time after all.

"Can you open your eyes?" Gibbs asked.

"Trying," Tim said as his eyes started to flicker a few times.

"No rush. Take your time," Jenny said gently.

With the surprising voice of his aunt, Tim forced his eyes open even if it was only slightly. He saw her at his right looking down at him kindly. He kept looking at her, wondering if she knew the truth. He almost felt like she had to. The way she looked at him now was a lot like she had when he was a kid. Still, a part of him still hoped she didn't know.

"Yes," Jenny said, answering the unasked question. She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he was trying to decide if she knew the truth.

Tim turned his head, not wanting to face the woman in front of him. It had all been for nothing. He'd gone with Kort and gotten tortured once more by that monster and it didn't make any difference. Jenny still learned the truth.

"It's okay. I'm not angry, Jasper," Jenny assured him.

Tim flinched at the name and all the memories it brought with it.

"I understand why you didn't want me to know," Jenny said. She didn't agree with that choice. She believed it just messed him up more, but she could see his logic in it. He wanted to hide from the truth and he thought denying his former life could do that. "Jasper, please look at me."

"Stop calling me that," Tim said quietly.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. If I thought it was because you honestly preferred the name 'Tim', I would, but I know that's not the case. You're trying to hide and I won't help you do that. It's not gonna help you any,' Jenny said. She wanted to help her nephew, but letting him hide behind lies was not going to help him. He had to face all of this if he was ever going to heal.

"It seemed to work fine," Tim said

"No, it didn't, not if it got you to walk out the door with Trent Kort," Gibbs said

"Gibbs," Jenny warned.

"Not judging him, Jen. Just sayin that if he could do that over simply coming to you, it's clear that he's not okay," Gibbs said.

"Okay?" Tim asked causing both of them to turn back to him. "You think I'm deluding myself into thinking I'm okay? I know that I'm not okay. There are times when I go home at night that I place my gun to my head and I consider pulling the trigger."

"Oh God," Jenny said in horror. Listening to her nephew say that he'd considered killing himself scared the crap out of her. She was picturing him standing in an empty apartment with a gun to his head. It was an image she did not want.

"When Acosta got ready to kill me, I was ready for it. I was embracing it. Even now, I wish he'd killed me," Tim said. Now that his secrets were out, he felt no reason to deny the thoughts that went through his head every day.

"Don't say that,"Jenny said.

"Why? I should've been dead years ago," Tim said.

"That's not true."

"Both of you, just leave me alone," Tim begged.

"We can't do that right now. Jasper, there's something I need to tell you," Jenny said. Given everything her nephew had just said, she did not wanna tell him this now, but she had no choice.

Tim looked at her. "He is dead, right? He has to be. I saw him die."

"Acosta, is dead, yes. He can never hurt you again," Jenny assured him. "What I have to tell you is in regards to your injuries."

"What about them. I already know I've got broken bones," Tim said. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that his knees and feet were broken. The son of a bitch had smashed a hammer into them.

"Yes, you do," Jenny said before sitting down in the chair beside her nephew's bed. "Both of your knees and feet have broken bones. They're going to require surgery."

"Okay," Tim said, not seeing the big deal. He'd been down that road before after his last escape from Acosta.

Jenny took a deep breath. "Your knees were very badly broken. They were pretty much crushed and the doctor said that they won't be able to mend all the bones. They're gonna have to take some of them out."

Tim knew from that last statement that the rest of what Jenny had to say to him was going to be really bad. Having his bones removed could not be good.

"It's very unlikely that you'll walk again," Jenny finally said.

Tim stared at her, almost like he was hoping that her words would suddenly change. Finally after several moments, he swallowed and began to speak. "I...I'm not gonna walk again?"

"You might not. It's not for sure, Tim. But the likelihood isn't great and if you do walk again, it probably won't be the way it was before," Gibbs said.

"But it's not the end of the world. I know it seems that way, but your future is not over if you can't walk or if you can only walk with help," Jenny said.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "You're telling me that I'm probably not going to walk again and you expect me to still have hope for the future. I already wished I was dead and now I can't even walk out of here!" To him, this was the end of the world. The future already looked bleak to him. Now it was practically non-existent.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened and the doctor entered the room. "Oh, it looks like you're awake,"

Tim didn't say anything in response.

"I'm going to ask the both of you to leave for a few minutes while I examine him. In fact, you should not be in here at all," she said looking at Gibbs.

Gibbs shrugged not caring before heading for the door.

I'll be right back. It'll will be okay, Jasper," Jenny told him before getting up and following Gibbs.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Before the chapter, I just want to address a couple of points made in my reviews. The first is in relation to Tim's foster family not being called. This is because Tim is not close to them. With the trauma he went through, I don't see him allowing himself to get close to another family, both because he would be distrustful after what he'd endured and because he would see it as an insult to his murdered family to let himself think of the McGees as parents.**

**I also received a couple of reviews suggesting a knee replacement for Tim. I have looked into it and it seems like that procedure is most used for knee conditions like Osteoporosis. I'm not sure it would work for an injury like Tim's and in any event, it wouldn't work for the story I want to tell. I do appreciate the idea though, so thank you to both those reviews and to all other reviews too as I'm always glad to have feedback. **

**I hope this has cleared some things up. Now onto the chapter.**

Jenny was leaning against the wall a few feet away from her nephew's room. She was very worried about him, and not just for his physical health. He had admitted himself that he was not okay after what he'd endured, and that was before Acosta had ripped him apart for the second time. Jenny worried about what all this was doing to his state of mind and if he could ever truly come back from it. Jasper was strong, that Jenny knew. He went through hell and he was still standing. He was hiding from the pain and she believed that was going to cause him more pain eventually, but he was still there and functioning. But how much more could he take? He had already been through hell once and now it had happened again, with the added pain of possibly

losing his ability to walk. How was he supposed to deal with all of that?

Jenny was soon pulled from her thoughts when she heard someone approach. She expected it to be Gibbs, who had walked off not too long ago, but instead it was Ducky. "Hi, Ducky.

"Hello, Director. I thought you could use this," Ducky said as he held out a cup of coffee for her.

Jenny smiled and took it. "Thanks."

"How is Timothy?" Ducky asked.

"He's awake, though I know he wishes otherwise. The doctor's with him now. I'm assuming Gibbs told you everything," Jenny said before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yes. Does Timothy know yet?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah, I told him. He was devastated. As if he needed something else to bring him down," Jenny said. She hated the pain Jasper was going through now. She wished there was something she could do to help him, but aside from try to be there for him, she didn't see anything she could do

"He's certainly been through a lot," Ducky said sadly.

"That's putting it mildly. This is his second hellish experience with Acosta and it was just as devastating as the first, maybe even more so," Jenny said. This time might have been much more brief than the last, but it had more permanent consequences, not to mention having to relive the same mental agony again. "The only solace is that Acosta can never hurt him again. He can't do anything to my family again. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done."

"Well, I certainly don't think it's going to be easy for Timothy to come back from this, but he won't have to do it alone this time. We will be there for him, most especially you, I'd wager," Ducky said.

"Unquestionably," Jenny said firmly. She was not there for her nephew in the past and she hated that. She hated that he virtually fended for himself when he escaped Acosta the first time. That wasn't going to happen again. She would do everything in her power to help him.

"So this time will be better, though I don't expect him to see that yet," Ducky said. He knew Timothy saw nothing good about this situation. He probably thought the world had come to an end, both from being subjected to that madman again and having all his secrets exposed

"I think he sees it as worse. He never wanted me to know the truth. That's why Kort was able to exploit him in the first place," Jenny said.

"Don't take it personally. I don't think it had much to do with you, Director," Ducky said.

"No, I know why he did it. He wanted to distance himself from the pain. I think he thought that by taking on a new identity, he could somehow separate himself from the pain. But that would only work if there was nothing left to remind him of it. That's why he couldn't tell me the truth. It all ended if there was someone who saw Jasper Shepard instead of Timothy McGee," Jenny said.

"Yes, I'd wager you're correct about that, which means he may be reluctant to receive support from you. He may try to push you away," Ducky said.

"That's not going to happen," Jenny said. There was no way she was going to let Jasper push her away. She would give him the space he needed when he needed it, but she wasn't going to go away. She loved him and she would see him through all of this.

"Good, because though he won't admit it right now, he needs you," Ducky said. "Now, if I may ask, how are you dealing with all of this? It must be very shocking to go from thinking your nephew died at the age of twelve to learning he's alive, but haunted and back in the hands of a killer. Then having to sit by his side knowing he has most likely been changed for life, both physically and mentally. That is of course on top of realizing that he is someone you've known for over two years and never knew who he truly was. That is a lot to deal with in such a small period of time."

"You have no idea what it does to me, knowing he was right there and I didn't know. I should've known. I should've seen it the moment I laid eyes on him," Jenny said.

"I don't think that's true. Eighteen years is a long time and he would've changed greatly, especially since he was just a child then. Children often look different when they grow up if you're not there to see it," Ducky explained.

Jenny walked over to the window to look in at her nephew. "But when I look at him now, I can see pieces of my brother. Hell, I can see pieces of the boy I knew. Why couldn't I see it then?"

"Because you weren't looking for it You had no reason to. You believed he was dead and you had good reason for that belief."

"Did I? There was no body," Jenny said. That was another thing she kept going back to. Why had she and her father given up on Jasper? Well, she knew why to some extent. They didn't believe a man like Acosta would let him live. He certainly had no problem killing the rest of his family, including five-year-old Sarah, but it didn't make sense to leave their bodies behind and not Jasper's. They should've tried harder to get to the bottom of what happened.

"There was no reason for you to believe Acosta would've left him alive," Ducky said.

Before anything else could be said, Tim's doctor came out. Jenny immediately approached her. "Hi. How is he doing?"

"He's okay. His vitals are right where I expected. We obviously still have to deal with his broken bones though," the doctor said.

"When will that be?" Jenny asked. She knew that Jasper would have to go in for surgery soon. The doctor had mentioned the day before that it would be pretty much right after he woke up.

"Soon. An Orthopedic surgeon will be here shortly to explain what will happen. You can go back in now if you'd like," she said.

Thank you," Jenny said before watching as the woman walked away.

"Are you going back in?" Ducky asked.

"Not just yet. I'm gonna give him some time to himself. It's what he wanted before I told him about his injuries," Jenny said.

"Yes, that's probably wise," Ducky said.

Just then, Jenny noticed someone approach. She glared coldly as soon as she saw who it was. Trent Kort. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Kort sighed. He had hoped to avoid this. He wanted to speak with the younger Shepard before the director or Gibbs even knew he was there. It seemed that wouldn't happen. "To get answers for what happened to my informant and to hold the one responsible accountable.

"Mr. Kort, it is my understanding that your informant was killed by the local police," Ducky said as politely as he could stomach. Like he was sure the others did as well, he laid a lot of the blame for what happened to Timothy on this man. He'd exposed the young man to Acosta for the second time after all.

"Because McGee screwed up. I demand an explanation for that," Kort said.

"You and your demands can kiss my ass! You're lucky I haven't shot you, or better yet, cut off the piece of your body that makes you a man. Believe me, I've entertained both ideas in the last few days. Now remove yourself from in front of my nephew's room before I do more than entertain them!" Jenny growled.

"I want to speak to McGee. He needs to explain his actions," Kort said.

"HIs actions? How about your actions? You're the idiot who decided to use a madman as an informant knowing what he was capable of. Again, as this is not the first time you worked with a madman, nor is it the first time you did with one who harmed my family. You then turned your back on him, left him with nothing more than a single guard to keep him contain him. The result of that was one of your people dead and an already tormented man being even more tormented by this monster! It is your actions that should be under question here, not his. In fact, I'm betting they are. That's the reason you're here, isn't it? You wanna make my nephew your fall guy, make it seem like he's the one that made mistakes. Well, that's not going to happen!" Jenny seethed. Her voice was quiet because she didn't wanna disturb her nephew, but she was clearly pissed off. She was ready to rip this son of a bitch apart for trying use her nephew again.

"You can't stop me from speaking to him," Kort said.

"Watch me. Let me make something clear to you right now. You are no longer dealing with 'Director Shepard'. I am that young man's family. You have no idea what lengths I will go to to protect him. Come near him and I will make a sport out of ripping you apart," Jenny promised.

Kort chuckled almost mockingly before walking away.

"He's not through," Ducky said.

"He's more than through if he doesn't heed my warning," Jenny swore. She would follow through. She would make Kort's life a living hell if he came after Jasper. No one was going to hurt her nephew again.


	20. Chapter 20

Jenny went into her nephew's room about twenty minutes after getting into it with Kort. She wanted to give Jasper a little time alone and also she wanted to cool off. She had been extremely pissed after Kort showed up.

"What did Kort want?" Tim asked.

"You heard us?" Jenny asked surprised. She thought she'd been quiet enough so that her nephew wouldn't no what was going on right outside his room.

"No," Tim said. He was actually surprised he didn't hear her. Jenny had always been extremely volatile and loud when she was angry. He didn't know that just from her time at NCIS either. He'd heard her get into it quite a few times with people when he was a child. His father had joked about it a few times. He told Tim that you never wanted to mess with a redhead because they were lethal. And he could only imagine that Kort presence would piss her off. "I saw him through the window. I'm guessing he's mad that Acosta's dead and wants to blame me for it."

"He's looking for someone to take the blame. I promise you that I won't let him make that person you," Jenny assured him. "You focus on your recovery."

Tim laughed bitterly. "Recovery? Is that what you call me being in a wheelchair for the rest of my life."

"Jasper…"

"Please, stop calling me that. I'm not Jasper anymore," Tim said.

"You may not want to be, but you are," Jenny said.

"No! That kid is gone! We may physically be the same person, but everything that was Jasper died when my family was murdered right in front of me and then I was tortured on a daily basis," Tim said.

Jenny closed her eyes sadly. She'd wondered if her nephew had seen what happened, but she'd hoped he hadn't. "You saw it."

"Of course I saw it. He took pleasure in making me watch," Tim said before flashing back to being held back while his family was tortured and killed. He immediately shrugged off the thoughts. "I was not the same after that. I will never be the same."

"I know that. I know that the boy you were and the man you are now are not the same. First of all, no one can say they are the same as they were at the age of twelve. Second, I wouldn't expect you to remain the same after suffering such trauma," Jenny said. She had no delusions that he was the same. He watched his family get killed and then he was tortured for a year. The child that happened to had been innocent and ignorant of the world's cruelness. That had been stripped away from him.

"Then why won't you just call me Tim?" he asked.

Jenny walked over and sat down beside him. "Because you are using that identity to hide. You have taken on this whole new identity, past and all and I think you've done that to try to separate yourself from the person that those terrible things happened to."

Tim looked away. He couldn't say she was wrong. That had been what happened. No, he didn't come up with the name, but over the years, he had adapted the identity, as well as the fake past in his personnel file to try to forget the truth. Forgetting, he never managed, but he did manage to push it away most of the time and say it happened to someone else.

"It's a lie, Jasper. Tim McGee, born in Maryland and raised as a Navy brat, isn't real. You were born and raised here in DC in a very loving home until something very terrible happened to you," Jenny said before placing her hand on top of his. "I don't blame you for wanting to escape, but you can't. You have to deal with what happened. If you don't, it will eventually destroy you. There's no way in I'm going to let that happen!"

"What makes you think there's anything left to destroy?" Tim asked.

Before Jenny could respond to her nephew's comment, she heard someone come int. She turned to see a balding doctor who looked to be in his late forties come in. "Hi."

"You're the orthopedic surgeon, correct?" Jenny asked as she stood up.

"Yes, I'm doctor Clarence," he said as he held out his hand.

Jenny shook it. "Jenny Shepard."

The doctor turned to Tim. "You must be Tim McGee. How's your pain?"

"It's not the best I've ever felt, but I've felt worse," Tim said. He was in quite a bit of pain. Anyone else would've found it agonizing and unbearable, but he'd lived with this for a year the first time without any means of easing it. Now at least they had given him something to help it.

"Good. Now would you prefer to have this conversation privately?" the doctor asked as he glanced at Jenny.

"Why? She knows it all anyway," Tim said.

"Okay. Well, as I'm sure you know, you have a lot of broken bones that we're going to have to go in and fix. This is going to take more than one procedure. First, we'll take care of your knees. Those are in the worst shape and we wanna get those to start healing," Doctor Clarence said.

Tim nodded.

"We're going to mend as much as we can. We'll put them back together and hold them with screws. There will be bones we'll have to take out, quite a few of them actually. When the procedure's done, we'll immobilize your knees. I'm going to warn you that you're in for a tough recovery just with your knees alone," he said.

"The last doctor said that I will essentially be paralysed. I don't know that I would call that recovery," Tim said. Paralysis probably wasn't the right word, but he would be unable to walk, so it meant the same to him. It was still a horrible fate to him.

Doctor Clarence sighed. "I won't deny that recovery will be very hard for you and probably not completely successful. It's true that you could very well be left with limited mobility, but you should try to have hope. No one can say for sure what condition you'll be in a year from now."

Tim knew false hope when he heard it. This guy was giving him a line that all doctors gave. He didn't believe a word he was saying. "When will you do the surgery?"

"I've already got you on the schedule. We'll start prepping you in about an hour. The surgery for your feet will probably be in a day or two, since it's that won't be as complicated," the doctor said.

"Fine," Tim said. He then watched as the doctor left


	21. Chapter 21

Tony was sitting on a bench outside the hospital. After sitting in that waiting room for an extended period of time, he decided to get some air. It didn't seem any of them were going to get in to see McGee anytime soon anyway

Tony replayed everything that had happened in the last few days. Most of it still seemed unbelievable. He thought he knew McGee, but it was clear now that he didn't. Hell, McGee wasn't even McGee. Tim McGee was nothing more than lie he created for reasons that Tony couldn't even fathom. It didn't make sense to him. Why would McGee hide who he was? Why would he go so far as to submit to Kort to keep such secrets? What was so damaging? It couldn't be Jenny he was worried about. She had made her devotion to her nephew clear. She was completely on his side.

Tony soon felt another presence. He turned to see Ziva. "Hey."

"Hello," Ziva said before sitting down next to him. "I guess you needed to get out of that hospital too."

Tony nodded.

"Gibbs showed up just after you left. They have taken McGee for surgery. They are going to repair as much of his knees as possible," Ziva said.

"I'm sure he's real optimistic about that, given they already told he won't walk again," Tony said sarcastically.

"Yes, Gibbs says he is not handling it well," Ziva said.

"Of course not. Who would handle hearing they may never walk again well? His whole life involves walking and running. He's a field agent. He worked hard to get that. He worked hard to be a part of this team. Now he's gonna lose it. He'll be chained to a desk for the rest of his career," Tony said sadly.

Ziva sighed sadly. It was wrong what had happened McGee had suffered so much in his life and it was not over. It would never be over. He would have a physical reminder of what Acosta did to him forever. Not that he needed a physical reminder. Ziva was sure all he had to do was close this eyes to remember what happened.

"I can hardly believe this is happening. Less than a week ago, he was in the office and things were the way they were supposed to be. Now he's paralyzed. We should've stopped him," Tony said. He thought about that over and over too. They should've stopped Tim from leaving with Kort.

"We tried, Tony. Kort exploited his pain to get him to do what he wanted. Unfortunately, it worked," Ziva said.

"It shouldn't have. We should've done something to stop it," Tony said again.

"What should we have done? Should we have physically attacked him or chained him to his desk?" Ziva asked. She hated that they could not stop McGee from leaving with Kort, but short of holding him against his will, there was nothing they could do.

"If it came to that," Tony sad. If that had been what it took to keep all of this from happening, he would've gladly done it.

"We did not know what was going on, Tony," Ziva said.

"We knew Kort was involved. That's more than enough to know that it was bad," Tony said.

"And we did everything we could. We tried to stop him and when we couldn't, we went to the director. There was nothing more we could do. Maybe if we had known the truth we could've stopped it, but we did not. Kort and Acosta are the ones to blame for this," Ziva said. It was a mistake to blame anyone else. Doing that only took the blame away from those really responsible.

"I don't understand why he hid it. He lied about his whole life, right down to his name. Tim McGee isn't real. He's just someone Jasper Shepard created. Why?" Tony asked.

"That is not exactly the case. He was a boy when that happened and living with the McGees. They created it, not him. He just never corrected it and he used it to try to rebuild his life. Acosta completely destroyed his life. He was left with nothing and most likely felt that in order to survive, he had to let go of who he was. I think he just could not live with the memories, so he tried to convince himself that they happened to someone else," Ziva explained. Of course, she knew that her friend's logic was not healthy and it was more than a bit twisted, but after giving it some real thought, that was the conclusion she came to. Who wouldn't want to forget the hell he'd been through?

Tony sighed. He knew that his friend had been through hell and not just from his family's murders. McGee had just been a kid when all of this happened and there was no way Acosta just let him go. He did something to him, probably a lot of things actually, especially if this last time was any indication. Tony knew the director, Gibbs, and after what she'd just said, Ziva too, knew what happened. He didn't ask though. For the first time, there was something he didn't wanna know. "I know that whatever Acosta did to him was horrible. I don't even wanna think about how horrible it had to be to make him become someone else."

"No, you do not," Ziva said as she thought about the file she'd been given that was now locked in Gibbs' desk. She could not get that out of her head. She could not keep imagining the torment that that little boy had endured for a year. She wished she had the same ignorance that Tony did. He knew something terrible happened, but he did not have the facts to imagine it.

"It still doesn't make sense for him to go with Kort. He knows Kort is a bastard. Why would he go with him? Why not just tell Gibbs and the director the truth. Trusting his aunt seems more logical than trusting Kort,' Tony said.

"Of course it is. It would make much more sense to just tell the truth instead of trusting someone such as Trent Kort. But you are expecting a man who never truly recovered from all of this to make sense. He can't. All he can think about is keeping his past separate from the man he is now. He made choices that make no logical sense to the rest of us in order to accomplish that. He is messed up, Tony. He cannot be expected to think logically about what he's been through and make rational decisions when his past is involved," Ziva said.

Tony laughed, though there was no actual humor in it. "He always seemed to have a great life. I was envious of him sometimes. He had a great childhood. Well, I thought so anyway. I don't know why I thought that now when I look back. It's not like he said he did. He barely even talked about his family. I guess he just seemed like the loved and sheltered type. He was far from sheltered. That's obvious. He saw and lived with way too much at a very young age. I don't know how he turned out the way he did."

"No, neither do I. I do not even know how he's still standing. I do, however, know that if he is going to keep standing, he is going to need a lot of help. He will get most of it from Jenny and Gibbs, but he will need us to I think," Ziva said.

Tony nodded. "And he'll have. I'll do whatever I can to help him."

"So will I."

Tony stood up. "I'm gonna head back in."

"I will join in a minute," Ziva said, needing a moment to herself.

Tony nodded headed back inside.


	22. Chapter 22

Gibbs returned to the hospital after getting another cup of coffee to see Jenny just outside the hospital on her phone.

"Thank you, Leon. See you soon,"Jenny said before hanging up the phone.

"I'm guessing since you were talking to the assistant director, you're taking time off," Gibbs said. He wasn't surprised. McGee needed Jenny's undivided attention right now. He was going through hell and he needed his only family there for him.

"Yeah. I don't love it with Kort trying to make a scapegoat out of my nephew, but then I don't need on the job to tear him to shreds. Jasper needs me right now. I won't divide my attention between helping him through this and running an agency. I've already been on the phone with SecNav. I informed him of my decision to take personal time. Leon is in charge the second he touches down in DC.

Gibbs nodded. "McGee out of surgery yet?" He hadn't spoken to Jenny in about an hour or so. He'd spent most of the time keeping the team calm. Well, actually, that was mainly just Abby. She'd been really upset since learning McGee wasn't likely to walk again, so much so that she kept trying to deny that it was true, saying that the doctor could be wrong or something. He'd spent the majority of the time since seeing McGee that morning trying to get Abby to accept the truth. He didn't want her giving McGee false hope.

"Yeah. I saw him briefly when he got to recovery. He's asleep now. When I went to brief the rest of you, you'd already left.

"Surgery go well?" Gibbs asked.

"As well as possible. They had to take out quite a few bones and prognosis is the same. Limited mobility. The doctor mentioned physical therapy, but he didn't sound very hopeful," Jenny said.

"We'll get him through it," Gibbs assured her.

Jenny sighed sadly. "He's got an awful lot to get through."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony was sitting by his friend's side as he slept. Gibbs had said that they should wait a little bit until the rest of them came to see McGee, but Tony couldn't wait any longer. Besides, he was pretty sure that was mostly for Abby and the way she was acting. She was in denial about what was going on, probably even more so than McGee himself. She probably shouldn't be around him just yet.

Tim slowly began to open his eyes. He looked around and saw Tony by his side.

"Hey, man," Tony said.

Tim immediately looked away. He didn't want to face Tony. He already knew how weak the older man must see him as. He didn't want to see that in his eyes, not to mention the pity that would also undoubtedly be there.

"How you feeling?" Tony asked.

"I'm fine," Tim lied. Fine was the last thing he felt now. He was in a lot of physical pain, though he imagined it would be much worse if not the meds they were giving him. Too bad there was nothing to dull the emotional pain and misery.

"Liar. You're far from fine," Tony said.

"Then why did you ask?" Tim asked.

Tony shrugged. "I guess it's just something you automatically ask someone when they're in the hospital and just had surgery. How's the pain?"

"It could be worse," Tim said as continued to look in the opposite direction of the man he was talking to.

Tony was not oblivious to this. "I didn't realize my face was that hard to look at. Sure, it's been a while since I slept, so I know I look pretty disheveled, but I didn't think it was so bad that people couldn't look at me."

"I'm really not in the mood for jokes, Tony. Actually, I'm not in the mood to talk at all. Can you just go?" Tim asked.

"Tell me why you're avoiding looking at me first," Tony said.

"Because I don't want to. Just go," Tim said. He didn't wanna talk to anyone. Gibbs and Jenny he could somewhat handle, though it was still very difficult. The others, especially Tony, would be worse. Tony already thought him weak. Learning all his secrets would just make it worse.

Tony shook his head. "No. Tell me what's wrong."

Tim laughed humorlessly. "What isn't wrong? I just got tortured to the brink for the second time, my biggest secrets were revealed, and now I'm basically going to be paralyzed. I'm not sure how worse it gets. Oh, and now Kort wants to make me his fall guy."

Gibbs and Jenny won't let that happen. All of this is Kort's fault. He's the only one that goes down for this," Tony said.

"Well, that's not exactly true. I went along with Kort," Tim said. He knew he was culpable in this. He'd allowed Kort to blackmail him into helping him. He was more worried about protecting his secrets than his life. To make matters worse, it was all useless. If anything, agreeing to help Kort was why his secrets were exposed.

"He blackmailed you. You'd been through hell and Kort took advantage of that," Tony said. He still didn't fully understand why McGee didn't just come to them, but after talking to Ziva, he came to the conclusion that he wasn't supposed to. Like she said, McGee wasn't capable of thinking logically because he never recovered from what happened to him. "It's not your fault. Acosta and Kort are responsible for what happened."

"It is my fault, just like it was then," Tim said.

"Then? You mean when you were a kid?" Tony asked in disbelief. He had to be hearing wrong. McGee couldn't possibly blame himself for something that happened when he was a child. That made no sense at all.

"I should have done something to try to stop it. I should've fought harder instead of standing there while he murdered my family," Tim said. He flashed back to that night. Two men were holding him as his parents and sister were killed right in front of him.

Tony got up and moved around the bed so that he was facing his friend. "You were a little boy. How the hell were you supposed to fight men with guns? This makes no sense at all, man. Yes, actually it does. You lived and they didn't."

"This is not survivor's guilt," Tim said.

"It sure as hell seems that way. Is this why you didn't tell Jenny the truth?" Tony asked. Ziva's theory made sense, well, as much as it could, but so did this. If somehow McGee believed he was responsible for his family's murder, he would find himself unable to face his aunt.

"It's part of it," Tim said. A large part of him did worry about Jenny blaming him as he blamed himself. She wasn't wrong about him also trying to hide though. "She shouldn't have to be faced with me everyday knowing that I should've done something to stop what happened."

"You couldn't have done anything! You were twelve for God's sake! Your dad was a CIA agent and couldn't do anything," Tony said.

Tim glared at Tony. "Don't blame my father! He did everything he could. It's not his fault!

"I didn't say it was. I don't think your dad was responsible. I just don't think you were either. You said it yourself, your dad couldn't do anything to stop it, so why the hell do you think you could've?" Tony asked.

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore. Just leave me alone," Tim said.

"Oh, hell no, Probie. I'm not going anywhere now," Tony said firmly.

Just then, the door opened and a nurse entered the room. "Hi. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I need to check his vitals, plus, your friend needs to get some rest."

"I guess you're leaving after all," Tim said to Tony.

Tony sighed unhappily and headed for the door, vowing that no matter what he would find a way to get his friend to see that what happened was not his fault.


	23. Chapter 23

Tony made his way out to the waiting room where the team and the director were now waiting. He was so damn frustrated after the conversation he'd just had with McGee. He could not understand how McGee could blame himself for not being able to fight off grown men at the age of twelve. He understood survivor's guilt. He'd seen it many times on the job, but this was just so out there. It didn't make sense that a little boy should be able to defend himself against armed men. Ziva was right. McGee was messed up. Tony just wondered if it was so bad that they couldn't fix it.

"Tony, where have you been?" Ziva asked.

"I went to see McGee. Boss, I know you said to wait, but I couldn't anymore. I had to talk to him, let him know that I was there for him," Tony said.

"How is he?" Abby asked.

Tony just shuddered, unable to answer.

"He's dealing with a lot. He was just tortured for a second time and he just learned this morning that he won't walk again. I'm not surprised if he wasn't faring well when you saw him. He certainly wasn't any of the times that I did," Jenny said.

"Yeah, I know. That's not what has me freaked out. He blames himself, Director," Tony said. He was going to tell her everything McGee had told him. He hoped she would be able to get him to see that this wasn't his fault.

"Because he went with Kort instead of letting us help him?" Ziva asked.

"Well, yeah, he does. He feels like it was stupid of him to trust Kort, especially since it didn't work," Tony said.

"Well, he should've. We would've helped him. He should've trusted us," Abby said. She of course didn't blame McGee for what was done to him, but she did feel he should've trusted them to help. She was kind of hurt that he didn't.

Jenny narrowed her eyes at the young woman. She liked Abby, but she was not going to stand for the woman judging her nephew. He didn't need that after the hell he'd been through. "Abby, when you've watched every single member of your family die and get tortured by the man responsible, then you can say that. Do not think you have the right to judge him!"

Abby stepped back a bit at the tone in the director's voice.

"Director, there's more. It's not just what happened this time that he blames himself for. He blames himself for not being able to save his parents and sister," Tony said.

"What?" Jenny asked in disbelief. That couldn't be true. It made no sense. Jasper was just a little boy when Acosta went after his family. There was absolutely nothing he could do.

"Did he tell you that Tony or are you assuming after something he said?" Gibbs asked. He wanted to make sure Tony was sure about this.

"He said it. He said he should've done something to stop it. Boss, I get that survivor's guilt can have profound effects on people, even kids, but hearing him say those things was just freaky. How can he blame himself?" Tony asked.

"What else did he say?" Jenny asked.

Tony turned back to her. "Part of the reason he hid the truth from you is that he blames himself. I think he believes that you blame him too. He said you shouldn't have to deal with him knowing that it's his fault. I tried to make him see that he was wrong, but he wouldn't listen. He refused to even talk about it anymore."

Jenny walked past him towards her nephew's room. She was not going to let him believe this for another moment.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny was waiting outside her nephew's room. She'd wanted to go in right away, but the nurse was with him, so she had to wait. She still couldn't believe that he would blame himself. He had been a little boy. How could he possibly think he was expected to stop a madman like Acosta?

Soon the nurse came out. "You can go back in now."

"Thank you," Jenny said before entering the room.

Tim groaned as soon as he saw his aunt. "I don't wanna talk. Please leave me alone."

"No," Jenny said firmly as she made her way to his side. "We need to talk about something right now."

Tim sighed. "I should know better than to tell Tony something. The only thing worse is telling Abby. I don't know why I said it at all."

"Tony was right to tell me. I needed to know how you felt so I could make you see the truth. How can you blame yourself, Jasper? How can you possibly think that at the age of twelve you were supposed to be able to stop trained killers?" Jenny asked.

"Because it is my fault. I should've stopped it. You know I should've," Tim said. He was convinced that Jenny blamed him too, even if she wouldn't say it now. He knew it was his fault, so she had to

"You were a child! You were a boy who'd had his home invaded by killers. I'm guessing you were held down while all this happened, am I right?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, but I should've fought more. I should've tried to help," Tim said.

"No. There wasn't anything you could do," Jenny said.

"Yes, there was! There had to be! Stop saying it's not my fault! You're only saying it to because you feel bad for me. Well, don't! It's my fault and you know it!" Tim yelled before turning his head in the other direction.

"Really?" Jenny asked as she placed her hand above her nephew's head and bent over him. "Look at me."

Tim reluctantly turned his head towards her.

"Have I ever lied to you, even just to make you feel better? There have certainly been times when I could've, haven't there? Like when Sarah was born. Did I lie then?" Jenny asked.

Tim of course remembered his sister's birth. It had been very scary for him. She was born very prematurely and she almost died. His parents practically lived at the hospital, so he spent a lot of time with either his grandfather or his aunt

_Flashback_

_Seven-year-old Jasper Shepard III was sitting in the the living room of his grandfather's house with his grandpa and his aunt. They'd just told them that his sister was really sick and that was why he couldn't see her or his parents. "Is she gonna be okay?"_

"_The doctors are helping her and your mommy and daddy are by her side," his grandfather told him. _

"_What if the medicine doesn't work? Could she die?" Jasper asked in a frightened voice._

"_Jasper, everything will be okay. Your sister is being taken care of," Jasper Sr. said._

"_But, Grandpa, could she die?" Jasper asked. He was very young, but he was smart enough to understand that his question was not being answered._

_Suddenly his aunt got up and knelt down in front of him. "Yes, honey, she could die."_

"_Jenny," Jasper Sr. protested._

"_Lying to him and refusing to answer will not help him, Dad. He deserves to know what could happen. What would we say to him if the worst happened?" Jenny asked before looking back at Jasper. "Yes, Jasper, Sarah could die. She's very sick and the medicine might not work."_

"_I don't want her to die," Jasper said._

"_None of us do and we hope that she won't. The doctor's are working very hard to save her and we have every reason to believe that they will. She could die, but I think she'll get well and come home. Then she'll have the chance to annoy you like I like to annoy your daddy," Jenny said with a smile._

_Flashback_

"No, you didn't lie to me," Tim said when he came back to the present.

"And I"m not now. I have never blamed you for what happened and I never will. It's not your fault," Jenny said firmly.

"It is. I should've stopped it. I should've at least gotten Sarah out. I heard them before they saw me. I obviously made too much noise and they heard me," Tim said as tears started to well up in his eyes.

"They already knew you were there. Your father knew everything about Acosta and he knew everything about your father. He had to know there were two kids in the house. Neither one of you stood a chance," Jenny said sadly.

"Yet I'm still alive while they're all dead. I shouldn't be. I should be dead," Tim said as he started to cry.

"No," Jenny said as she pulled him to her, making sure not to aggravate any injuries.

Tim grabbed onto to her after a second and then completely broke down in her embrace, not having the energy or the emotional stability to push her away at this moment.


	24. Chapter 24

The next day, Gibbs made his way towards the hospital entrance after spending the night in a hotel. He'd just made it to the door when he heard a voice behind him.

"Gibbs!"

Gibbs turned around to see Fornell walking towards him with another man he didn't recognize. "Tobias, what are you doing here?"

The two men stopped right in front of Gibbs. "Gibbs, meet Special Agent Grant. He was in charge of the investigation into the Shepard murders."

"No," Gibbs said immediately. He knew where this was going and there was no way in hell he would allow it.

"Gibbs…"

"No, Fornell. Let him be. He's been through enough," Gibbs said firmly.

"We understand, Special Agent Gibbs, but this investigation has to be completed," Grant said.

"The son of a bitch is dead! There's nothing left to investigate," Gibbs said.

"You know that's not true, Gibbs. The case doesn't go away because the suspect dies," Fornell said.

"He's right. This case needs to be closed correctly. We can't even say for sure what happened. We've always had the belief that Sebastian Acosta killed CIA agent Jasper Shepard Jr. and his family, but without proof, we can't say it for sure. Plus, while Acosta might be dead, others involved may not be. I need a statement from Jasper Shepard," Grant said.

"I'm sorry, Gibbs, but we need to talk to him. I put it off as long as possible, but I couldn't anymore. He has to talk to us," Fornell said regretfully.

Gibbs sighed. He knew he really couldn't stop this from happening. Even Jenny probably wouldn't be able to stop it. The best she'd be able to do is prolong it, which might not be helpful. It might be best to just get it over with. "Come on."

The two men followed Gibbs inside.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim opened his eyes to find his aunt by his side once more. She was there when he went to sleep too. Actually, he didn't fully remember falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was letting go for the first time and letting her comfort him.

"Morning," Jenny said.

"It's morning? I slept all day?" Tim asked surprised. It was mid-afternoon when he must have fallen asleep. That meant he'd been out for a long time.

"Well, yesterday was a rough day for you, plus the painkillers you're on make you tired. Speaking of, do you need more. Are you in a lot of pain?"

"I'm okay," Tim said. He was in pain, but it was dealable at the moment and he didn't wanna knock out again right now.

Just then, the door opened and Gibbs walked in. "Morning, Tim. How you feeling?"

"I'm alright, Boss," Tim said

"What's wrong?" Jenny asked. She could tell something was up. Gibbs was good at hiding his emotions, but after working with him for so long, she felt she could read him pretty well.

Gibbs sighed. "FBI's here."

"Why?" Tim asked.

"They need to close your case. They need your statement," Gibbs said.

Tim shook his head, knowing immediately what they wanted from him. "No."

"Get rid of them," Jenny ordered.

"Tried, Jen. They want this case closed," Tim said.

"He's dead! Why can't it just be left at that?" Tim asked with pain in his voice. As an agent, he knew why it couldn't. Loose ends had to be tied up, but as a victim, he wanted to be left alone. He didn't wanna talk about what happened.

"I'll get rid of them," Jenny said before getting up and heading for the door.

Gibbs stepped in front of Jenny as she tried to pass him. "Jen you can't stop this from happening."

"I can keep it from happening now," Jenny said.

"Yeah, but he's still gonna have to do it. Isn't it better to get it over with so that he can focus on his recovery. Having it out there on public record may even help with Kort. He won't be able to refute what Acosta did then or now. Either way, he has to deal with this, Jen. You can't protect him from it," Gibbs said in a quiet voice.

Jenny sighed knowing he was right. Her nephew would have to deal with this eventually. Maybe it was best that it happened now. It might even help him heal a little if he finally spoke about what happened.

Jenny walked back over to her nephew, sat down, and took his hand.

Tim shook his head and looked at her pleadingly. "Please."

"It'll be alright. I'll be with you," Jenny promised.

"No. I don't wanna do this," Tim said.

"I know. I wish you didn't have to, but you do. Gibbs is right, I can't stop this from happening," Jenny said.

"I can. I can refuse to answer their questions," Tim said. He would not do this. He'd spent eighteen years trying to forget, albeit unsuccessfully, what happened that night. He was not going to relive it.

"You could, but they will just keep hounding you. Is that what you want, Jasper? Do you want these people in your face all the time while you're trying to get your life back together? Look, I know you don't wanna deal with this. I know you want it all to just disappear and go back to pretending you're someone else, someone who didn't go through something so awful, but that's not going to happen. You have to accept that because if you don't, it's just going to torture you more. Don't let that son of a bitch do that to you," Jenny pleaded with him.

"She's right. He's taken enough from you, Tim," Gibbs said

Tim groaned and rubbed his eyes. He did not want to do this, but he knew Jenny was right about one thing at least. The FBI would not leave him alone until he told them what happened. He already had Kort on his back, he didn't need them too. He had no choice. "Fine. Let them in."

Gibbs went over to the door and opened it for the two agents, motioning for them to come in.

Two watched as Fornell and an agent he didn't recognize walked into his room. His stomach began doing backflips as it came closer for him to relive the worst time in his life.

"Hey, McGee. How you doing?" Fornell asked.

"With all due respect, Agent Fornell, let's just get to the point. You're not here about my welfare," Tim said.

Fornell motioned towards Grant. "This is Special Agent Grant. He was in charge of your case eighteen years ago."

Tim nodded to the man. "Ask me what you want."

"First I need your confirmation. Are you Jasper Shepard III?" Grant asked.

"Yes," Tim said.

"Okay. I need you to tell me about the night your home was broken into on November 11, 1989," Grant said.

Tim took a deep breath. "I was asleep. I think it was pretty late. I woke up to screaming and loud noises. I got up and cracked the door open so I could hear more. I heard sounds of somebody being hit. I think it was my father being hit. My mother was yelling." He stopped for a minute as he fought the impulse to start balling his eyes out. It was really bad if this was starting now because this tale only got worse.

Jenny gave his hand a squeeze. "It's okay."

Tim took a couple more deep breaths. "I must have made some noise or something because the next thing I knew, I was dragged by two men from my room and out to the living room. My parents were on the floor, both bloody. One guy was holding my mom down while two others held my father. They both started pleading for my life and then for my sister's when she was brought out. Those pleas fell on deaf ears where she was concerned."

Now Jenny had to work hard to keep from losing it. She was hearing about her family was was tortured and brutally murdered, aside from her nephew who may just have had the worst fate. She wouldn't let herself fall apart though. Jasper needed her to be strong for him.

"S...Sarah was the first to die. Th...they smothered her with a pillow. My parents and I were all forced to watch," Tim said in a shaky voice.

Gibbs thought he was gonna be sick. He thought about his own daughter and how she was taken from him, but not even Pedro Hernandez reached the level of evil that Acosta had. It took a true monster to murder a five-year-old, torture a twelve-year-old, and brutally murder their parents, all right in front of said twelve-year-old. This was a sick bastard.

"My mom screamed. She laid there screaming for so long. Then they started on her. They killed her next, though not right away. They tortured her and my dad for h...hours, taunting them while they did it. They told my dad that if he'd just left well enough alone, none of this would happen. Acosta said that he was going to lose his entire family because of his actions. I...I don't know h...how long it went on for, bu...but it was a long time. Th...then Acosta grabbed my mom by the n,,,neck and sn...snapped it," Tim said. By the end, he was could no longer even attempt to keep his emotions under control. Tears were streaming down his face and his voice had broken.

Jenny felt tears run down her own face as she listened to how her loved ones were murdered.

Tim had to stop for a few minutes. He was losing it so bad that he couldn't even talk anymore, so he stopped to get himself to the point where he could go on. "I was screaming. I'd been screaming for a while, but not as much as then. I screamed for my Mom, begging her not to die, knowing though that it was too late. Before this my dad kept trying to assure me that things would be okay, but he stopped doing that after my mom was k...killed. Anyway, Acosta turned to my father then and asked what he should do next. Should he kill me while my father watched or should he kill him and have him wonder with his last breath what my fate would be?"

Jenny shuddered and cried at the way her brother died. She hated how all of them died, but her brother took his last breath being forced to think about what hell would befall his only living child. He had no peace, none of them really did.

"My father b...begged for my life. He begged them to just let me go and do what they wanted with him. Acosta laughed at him and started beating him some more. Then he g...grabbed a kn...knife and st...stabbed him over and over again while I stood there screaming," Tim said crying.

"And then they took you?" Grant asked.

Tim nodded, unable to speak once more.

"Why? Why didn't he kill you like the others?" Grant asked.

"H...he didn't tell me until recently. He told me this last time that he did it because he wanted to see my innocence gradually leave me. He wanted to destroy me before he killed me," Tim said.

"Can you tell us who else was involved?" Grant asked.

Tim shook his head. "I don't remember any other names."

"You got your statement now leave them alone," Gibbs said with a glare

"Of course. I'm sorry," Grant said before he and Fornell headed out of the room.

Gibbs watched as Jenny pulled Tim into her arms and cried with him as they grieved for those they loved. Then he left too, deciding that they needed to be alone.


	25. Chapter 25

Gibbs sat outside Tim's room with a cup of coffee in his hand. It had been about ten minutes since he left the room to give Tim and Jenny time alone. They were both understandably very upset after Tim gave his statement. They were both grieving over their family. At least now though they had each other to take comfort in.

Jenny walked out of the room a few moments later wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Hey. Is he okay?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny sniffed and attempted to pull herself together. "He's better. He asked for some time to himself."

"And you?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny walked over and sat down in the chair next to Gibbs. "That was so hard to listen to. My brother and his family were terrorized. Jay had to watch as his wife and daughter were murdered. He died without knowing what fate would befall his little boy."

"What happened to your family was awful, Jen," Gibbs said. He'd thought losing his own family was bad, but at least his wife and daughter died quickly. That couldn't be said for the Shepard's. Their murders were brutal. They were tortured and terrorized to death. Except of course Tim. He was still suffering. He lived with having watching his family die, as well as enduring his own torture twice. And now he had to live with debilitating injuries. It wasn't difficult to understand why he wanted to pretend he was someone else.

Jenny felt tears well up again and immediately tried to wipe them away. "I knew they'd suffered. I saw the autopsy reports. But I didn't know it was this bad. I never knew exactly what happened and a part of me was grateful for that. I didn't want to know the depth of their suffering. It was awful. And Jasper had to watch. He had to watch his family get brutally murdered as a little boy. I heard it eighteen years after the fact and it kills me. How do he survive experiencing it and then reliving it over and over again in his memories?"

"I don't know," Gibbs said. He had no idea how his agent had survived something so horrible or how he managed to keep his sanity. Though, the kid was certainly damaged. He was able to hide it for a long time, but it was clear as day now that Tim was broken. HIs inability to tell Jenny the truth for two years and to even hear his own name was proof. He was dealing with a boatload of survivor's guilt and trauma. He could no longer hide it now that they all knew the truth. To make things worse, he'd just suffered even more trauma, trauma he now had permanent reminder of.

"I wish I'd been there. I should've been around to help him through all of it. He suffered alone," Jenny said sadly.

"You all suffered," Gibbs said.

Jenny laughed humorlessly. "And not just from this. Four members of my family were murdered and another brutally tortured by sadistic bastards. My father was killed six years after Jay and his family."

"That's how you knew he didn't do it, didn't kill himself. If your father was gonna kill himself, it would've been after losing his son and grandchildren," Gibbs said.

"Yeah. I mean, I knew my father would never take a bribe, but even if the accusation was enough to bring him down, it wouldn't be so far that it was worse than losing his family," Jenny said.

Gibbs sighed sadly. Jenny and her family had suffered severely. It was tragic and horrific that predator after predator came after them, and that the CIA took away their chances for justice over and over.

Jenny rubbed her eyes tiredly. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep in the last few days and it was starting to affect her.

"Jen, I think you need to get some sleep. I got a room at the hotel down the road from here. Why don't you go?" Gibbs asked. He'd gotten the room so he wouldn't have to make two two hour drives each day when he wanted to come to the hospital to check on Tim.

Jenny shook her head. "I'm not leaving my nephew."

"He'll be fine, Jen. He's out of the woods and I'll be here if he needs anything," Gibbs assured her.

"No, he's been alone for too long," Jenny said.

"He's not alone now and he knows it. You've made it clear you're gonna be here for him. I don't think he's gonna feel abandoned if you go get a few hours sleep," Gibbs said.

Jenny wanted to keep arguing, but the fatigue was getting to her. "Okay, I'll go."

Gibbs took a keycard from his pocket and handed it to her before giving her the name of the hotel and the room number.

Jenny stood up. "Thank you, Jethro. I'll be back in a few hours."

Gibbs nodded and watched her leave.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked into Tim's room a couple of hours later. He saw him looking at whatever was on his TV with disinterest. "Hey."

Tim shut the TV off. "Hey, Boss.

Gibbs walked over and took the seat next to Tim's bed. "You alright?"

Tim shrugged.

"I'll take that as a no. Figured it was no anyway. You've been through hell these last few days, plus you had to relive a horrible past today," Gibbs said.

"I don't wanna talk about that anymore," Tim said.

"That's fine. Uh, Jenny went to get some sleep. She'll be back in a few hours," Gibbs said.

Tim nodded. "Maybe you should do the same, Boss."

"I've gotten plenty. Got a hotel room last night and stayed there. I told Jen I'd stay here while she's gone. She doesn't want you to feel alone," Gibbs said.

"I do fine alone. I think I even prefer it," Tim said.

"Well, that's gonna be a problem because no way is Jen, or any of the rest of us, going to abandon you. Let her in, Tim. She loves you," Gibbs said. He'd noticed that Tim had let Jenny in a little, but only when he could no longer hold his pain in. Every other time, he pulled away from her.

"I know," Tim said. He loved his aunt too. That was a big part of why he didn't wanna let her in. People around him died. HIs family and Kate were key examples of that. He didn't want it happening to Jenny too.

"Let her in, Tim. I know you love her too and it hurts you to keep her at arms length. Save both of you from anymore pain. She's your only family. Let her help you," Gibbs urged.

"She can't. Look, Boss, please just let me be for a while. I don't wanna talk anymore today. What happened earlier has me drained. Please," Tim begged.

Normally, Gibbs would push some more, but he could tell that his agent was emotionally exhausted and really did need time alone. "Okay. You need anything, yell."

Tim nodded and watched his boss get up and head for the door. Then he closed his eyes and willed the whole day to just go away.


	26. Chapter 26

The next day, Ducky walked into Tim's room. He saw the young man just starting to wake up. "Good morning, Timothy."

Tim wiped his eyes to fully wake up. "Hey, Ducky. Shouldn't you be at NCIS?" Tim asked.

"It's Saturday. Though, I can see you have just woken. I can come back if you'd like," Ducky said.

"No, it's fine. Saturday? Well, I guess I can chalk not knowing the day up to the trauma, plus the pain killers they've had me on prior to it," Tim said.

"Speaking of, I hope they're working. How is your pain?" Ducky asked.

"They're working alright. It's not that bad. Of course, I'm used to pain," Tim said the last part quietly to himself.

"I hear you're due to go into surgery again this afternoon," Ducky said.

"Yeah, they're moving onto my feet now. Doc told me yesterday. Uh, Ducky, I have a question for you. Please tell me the truth. Don't whitewash it," Tim pleaded.

"Of course," Ducky said. He guessed that this was about his recovery prospects. Ducky would tell him the truth. He needed to know what he was facing. Giving him false hope was not in his best interests. That was partially why Abigail had been kept away. She was unwilling to accept the truth and they knew she'd try to force her opinion onto Timothy.

"I've already been told that my chances of walking again are slim. Jenny and Gibbs told me that and so did the doctors. Of course, the doctor that performed my surgery and will the next one is also telling me to have hope. I think he just didn't wanna tell me it was hopeless, but I need you to tell me that. I trust your opinion on this subject more than anyone else's. What kind of mobility, if any, will I have?" Tim asked. He didn't really expect good news. He had pretty much accepted that he wouldn't be able to walk or do his job any longer, but he still needed to hear it from Ducky.

Ducky sighed. "Comminuted fractures are the most difficult to treat and heal from. The easiest one takes several months to recover from."

"I know," Tim said. He'd had that type of injury before. It took him more than six months to recover from it.

"Yours, however, was far from the easiest, and it seems you were injured there before. I had a look at your chart. I saw your x-rays. Given what I saw, I'd say that a wheelchair will become a permanent part of your daily life. You'll probably get to a point where you can stand up to reach high shelves without bracing against anything. with extensive physical therapy, you may even get to the point where you can walk around your apartment, but it's unlikely that you'll have much more mobility than that," Ducky said sadly.

Tim shuddered. Hearing it that way seemed almost worse than what he'd thought. But he'd asked for the truth and he was grateful he got it. He needed to know exactly what he was facing. "Thank you, Ducky.

"I'm truly sorry, Timothy. You don't deserve this," Ducky said.

Tim could debate that issue. Large parts of him felt he deserved it. He felt he deserved it for being alive while his family was dead. Even if he didn't though, he would still feel like he'd done something for things like this to keep happening to him.

Ducky could tell from the look on his face that he didn't believe that. "Timothy, I know that a large part of you feels responsible for what happened to your family. I also know that I won't be able to convince you otherwise today. You have believed this for far too long for it to go away in just a few days. It will take a long time, however, I will help it by telling you now that what happened to you and your family was no one's fault but the men who hurt you."

Tim decided to change the subject. "I guess Jenny was really tired. She hasn't been back since she left for Gibbs' hotel room yesterday."

Ducky realized what the young man was doing and decided to let him. "Yes, well, she hasn't gotten much sleep recently. She's been very worried about you. I'm sure she'll be back soon. I get the feeling you wish not though."

Tim shifted uncomfortably. It was true and knew that he might seem cold to some people. He didn't really let his aunt in unless he didn't have a choice, like when the FBI was questioning him. Reliving his family's murder had left him devastated and he wasn't strong enough to push her away. But he did it when he could because he wanted to protect himself and her. He was protecting himself from the memories. When he was around her, it was hard to pretend that he and that little kid she knew were not the same person. She was the only person alive who knew Jasper Shepard III and made it clear that she wasn't going to let him keep pretending that he wasn't him. The other reason was for Jenny's benefit herself. She didn't see it that way, but she was in danger with him. He felt like he had some kind of death omen attached to him. People around him tended to end up dead, and it usually involved him, like Kate who died because Ari and his men missed him, that witness Erin, who'd died while on the phone with him, or the cop who he very well may have killed himself. He didn't want the same thing happening to Jenny.

Ducky looked at the younger man and saw the thoughtful and pained look on his face. "I hope I didn't upset you, Timothy, but I feel like you're hurting yourself by pushing Jennifer away. You gave into blackmail to keep her from learning the truth and I don't think it's because you don't love her."

"It's not," Tim said. He didn't want people thinking he didn't love his aunt. He loved her very much. He used to talk to her about things he never would've said to his parents. Hell, he would talk to her about his parents when he was upset with them and she didn't judge him. She just listened and didn't give an opinion unless he asked for it.

"This man has caused you so much pain that you thought it better to place yourself in danger by being in his presence once more than tell your only family the truth," Ducky said.

"If your point is that I'm messed up, I'm aware," Tim said. He was very well aware that he was messed up and always would be. He knew his aunt was right when she told him that his refusal to go by the name he was given at birth was an unhealthy attempt to get away from the pain. And he certainly knew that working with Acosta instead of telling the truth was unhealthy and messed up on every level. He was not okay and he knew that.

"I hope this doesn't upset you, but I think you should speak to a therapist," Ducky said.

Tim laughed in response. "Do you have any idea how many shrinks I've actually been to. I was found beaten and bloody at the age of thirteen. They sent me to dozens of shrinks. They finally gave up when I was sixteen. They realized I was never going to talk about it."

"But you just said you wouldn't talk about it. If you participated, maybe they could help you," Ducky said.

Tim shook his head. "It won't. I get why you would suggest it, but no doctor can possibly understand what I went through. They didn't watch their family get murdered and they weren't tortured for a year. I'm not saying that they can't help others, but they can't help me. They can't even imagine what is in my head."

Ducky sighed. He could see he wasn't going to get the young man to change his mind and he didn't want to try to force it on him. Timothy was right about one thing, therapy didn't work for everyone. "Alright, I'll let it go. I've never been through such a trauma either, so I can't say what you should do either. I just want to help you."

"I don't think you can," Tim said.

"Hopefully I can prove otherwise. I should go for the moment and let you rest. Good luck with your surgery later," Ducky said.

"Thanks, Ducky," Tim said with a smile.

Ducky nodded and headed for the door.


	27. Chapter 27

Tim had fallen back asleep not long after Ducky left. When he opened his eyes again, his aunt was sitting by his side.

"Good morning," Jenny said with a smile.

"Morning. When'd you get here?" Tim asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"About an hour ago. I didn't mean to be gone this long. I guess I was really tired," Jenny said.

"It's fine. I don't need someone with me all day," Tim said.

"I know. I'm sorry if it seems i'm hovering. I just don't want you to feel alone, like you were before. I want you to know I'm here for you," Jenny said.

Tim nodded. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon," Jenny said.

Tim groaned. That meant he'd been asleep for nearly for over three hours. "I hate these drugs. They keep knocking me out."

Jenny chuckled. "Yeah, well, I think you'll like being off them even less. They're at least taking some of the pain away."

Just then, the door opened and Tim's doctor, Doctor Clarence came in. "Good Morning, Tim. How are you doing?"

"Alright," Tim said.

"Good. We're going to prep you for surgery in about an hour or so. I don't expect any problems. We'll put a pin in your left foot and then fuse the bones in your right one back together. We shouldn't have to remove anything," Doctor Clarence said.

"How long before I get to leave afterwards?" Tim asked. He was sick of the hospital. He wanted to go home.

"Well, that depends on your other injuries and how they're healing. I'm guessing that Doctor Wiley will want to keep you until the end of the week though. When you are released though, I'm afraid you won't be able to go home alone. You'll be leaving here in a wheelchair, and for a while, you're gonna need constant help. You will either have to go home with a family member or friend, or to a rehab center," Doctor Clarence said.

Tim sighed unhappily. He didn't like that at all. He was going to be basically helpless and he hated that. Even if the help he took was from his friends and family, he wouldn't like it. He'd felt helpless before and it was the worst in the world.

"Okay, well, I'll see you soon," the doctor said before walking out of the room.

"Jasper, I want you to consider something," Jenny said.

Tim groaned inwardly, knowing exactly what she was going to say next.

"I'd like you to come stay with me for a while," Jenny said.

Sure enough, Tim was not surprised by his aunt's request. He knew she'd want him to live with her. But he didn't wanna do that. Well, okay, it was more like he didn't think he should. He was trying to push Jenny away from him. That would be nearly impossible if he lived with her.

"Jasper, you heard what the doctor said, you can't do things on your own right now. I want to help you and I have the ability. I have the house in Georgetown and it's going to be much easier for you than an apartment. I can be there to help you and I can get you other help for things that I can't do," Jenny said. This was partially why she'd taken time off of NCIS. She knew that her nephew was going to need physical help for at least several months.

HIs aunt's words didn't have the comforting effect that she thought they would. It kind of made things worse for Tim. He had a lot of memories in that house. Yes, they were all good, but even the good memories hurt him. It reminded him of who he was and how that life was ripped away from him. "I don't think I can."

"Why?" Jenny asked.

Tim didn't answer. She wasn't going to like his answer and he didn't wanna give it anyway. He was worried that talking about how screwed up he was would cause another breakdown.

"Why, Jasper. Why do you keep pushing me away?" Jenny asked.

"I'm not," Tim lied.

"Yes, you are. You have been doing it since the moment I took the director's position and you saw me for the first time in years. You've been terrified that I would learn the truth. You weren't so nervous around me because you were intimidated. You had no reason to be intimidated by me. You were afraid that I'd look at you and see the truth. I believe that a big part of why you wouldn't tell me is because you were trying to escape the pain and that would be harder with me there to remind you of who you are. Another part is clearly because of the guilt you have mistakenly placed on yourself. But I feel like there's another reason you're still pushing me away. Please tell me what it is," Jenny begged.

"Nothing. Look, it's just better if you leave me alone. Forget that you found out I was alive. Go back to being the last Shepard alive because it is true. That kid you knew is dead," Tim said.

"That's not true. Yes, I know that you are not the same. It's impossible for you to be, but you are still Jasper Shepard III. You were very damaged, but you were not destroyed. And forgetting you're alive is never going to happen. Finding out you were alive is the best thing that has happened in a long time," Jenny said. She was extremely happy that her nephew was alive. She hadn't been able to focus on that much because things were in chaos and that had only continued afterwards, but she was glad to know that her entire family wasn't gone.

"Best thing? I should be dead," Tim said. He saw nothing good about the fact that he survived that night. There were many times over the years that he'd wished he'd died that night, especially over that first year.

"I wish you'd stop saying that," Jenny said. It unnerved her so much to hear her nephew say he should be dead. She did understand why he would say it. If she was him, she'd probably wanna be dead too, but it really freaked her out.

Tim shrugged. "I should be. I wish that I was. My life from the age of twelve has been miserable, Aunt Jen. Even after getting out of that hell, the first time, I was in no way happy. I had constant nightmares for months. I still had them occasionally over the years. Now they've started again. I woke up twice with them last night. And now I'm basically paralyzed. Why would I wanna be alive. I shouldn't be alive. I don't understand why I am. Why can't the world just let me go!"

Jenny shuddered at her nephew's words. He spoke as if life was some kind of punishment. He'd had several brushes with death and he believed that the fact that he'd survived them was a curse, not a miracle. She didn't want him to hate life like that. Again though, she understood why he would think that. She wished she didn't, but she did. "Being alive is not a punishment, Jasper. I am going to do whatever I can to help you see that. Let me. Come stay with me."

A part of Tim still wanted to say no, thinking it was best for both of them that he not be around her, but he also wanted to accept her help. He felt an urge to reach out to the aunt whom he'd always been able to talk to as kid. "I don't know. Give some time to think about it."

"Alright," Jenny said. It was better than the first answer.

"Can you give me some time alone?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee," she said before getting up and leaving the room.


	28. Chapter 28

The next day, Jenny was in MTAC at NCIS waiting to speak with Admiral John McGee. She needed to speak with him about Jasper's condition when he and his wife found him. If she was going to help him and figure out why he was so hesitant to let her in, she had to know what happened all those years ago. Since her Jasper's surgeries were finally all over, she figured now was the time to do it. She of course made sure to clear MTAC for the meeting to protect her nephew's privacy.

Soon, a man with greyed hair wearing a suit came onto the screen. "Director Shepard?"

"Hello, Admiral, thank you for speaking with me," Jenny started.

"John. This seems far from a professional meeting," John said.

"Okay, then call me Jenny. I guess you've been informed."

John nodded. "I was briefed by the FBI yesterday. I expected it wouldn't be long before you requested this call. I hear Tim's not faring well. That he may not walk again."

Jenny nodded. "Yeah."

"It's sad. His legs and his knees were broken several times and healed the wrong way several times, but somehow he was able to regain use of them completely. Now he loses that," John said.

Jenny sighed sadly. "Yeah, the previous injuries came up. It's partially why a full recovery is impossible. John, I want to thank you for what you've done for my nephew." She owed these people. They had saved Jasper's life and taken care of him for five years. She'd never be able to repay them.

John waved her off. "We didn't really do anything. We provided for him, but we didn't really help him. And if I'm being honest, I was reluctant to do that much. Don't get me wrong, I had nothing against him. I just saw what was left of him after my wife found him. He was more damaged than I was prepared to deal with."

Jenny chose not to comment on that. She didn't wanna judge, as she really couldn't say how she'd handle the situation if was anyone other than family. But he was her nephew and she resented the implication that he was beyond help. "The damage is what I need to speak to you about. I need to know how bad it was. I need to understand the effects of the torture he suffered so I can find a way to help him."

"Well, I can tell you what I witnessed, but I don't really know the full extent because I didn't know him before the fact. I couldn't compare how he was after to how he was before. You'd probably be able to tell more," John said.

"Yes, and of course I can tell he's not the same. I would never even expect him to be the same after what he went through. Anyway, I'd be grateful for any help you can give me," Jenny said.

"He was a mess. I"m sure you know by now that he wouldn't speak for a long time," John said.

"Yes. I heard he was mute for a year," Jenny said sadly.

John nodded. "We all tried to get him to speak, but he wouldn't. We wondered for a little while if he even could speak. While our first thoughts were that it was trauma, it had been several months and he hadn't uttered a single word. And since no one knew him before, we had no way of knowing for sure if he spoke before he was hurt. He was sent to speech therapy a few times, but he didn't participate. It became clear that it really was trauma."

"Was he going to school during this time?" Jenny wondered.

"Yes. He was enrolled about three months after he left the hospital. Teachers tried to get him to speak as well, but as you can guess, it wasn't helpful. Despite that though, he did well. It was clear he was a smart kid. He picked things up right away. It was really surprising," John said.

Jenny smiled. Jasper was always smart. He'd gone to a special school for it and even skipped a grade when he was eight. That was probably why he was able pick things up so easily after being out of school for over a year. "When did he speak again?"

"It was very sudden. We'd given up by then. We just figured he'd never speak. One day he just started. He didn't say much, but he spoke. My wife was always trying to get me to spend time with him, so I offered to take him on one of the ships," John said.

"He gets seasick," Jenny said. She remembered her father and brother taking him deep sea fishing when he was nine. It hadn't been a very fun trip for Jasper. He was sick the whole time.

"Yeah, he told me. That was the first time he spoke," he said.

"Did he ever tell you anything about his family?" Jenny wondered.

John shook his head. "I asked him his name right after he spoke to me. He said, 'that kid's dead. Tim is fine'. We had already been calling him that for nearly a year, so he was used to it. While he wouldn't talk, he responded to it."

"You clearly weren't close to him," Jenny said. While John had been pretty helpful and cared at least somewhat, he didn't seem to have deep feelings for her nephew and she was sure it was returned, as Jasper didn't mention them at all since waking up in the hospital. Also, he didn't seem to like getting close with anyone.

"No, we weren't. Look, I was never the father type. It's why we didn't have kids of our own. I reluctantly agreed to take him for my wife's benefit, and I even grew to care for him as a person, but I never saw him as a son. He wasn't that big on us either. He pushed my wife away no matter how hard she tried to get close to him. It didn't help that she probably tried too hard. She wanted to be his mother and he was not at all interested. He was probably worried about allowing someone to take the place of his own mother," John said.

Jenny figured he was probably right about Jasper's motives. He wouldn't want anyone taking his mother's place. His relationship with his parents had been wonderful and he wouldn't let anyone take that away. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Not really. He didn't let us in or anyone else for that matter. He never really had any friends. My wife tried to get him to make friends, but he wouldn't." John said.

Jenny sighed. She didn't learn much, though she was glad to have some insight into what her nephew faced after being rescued. Maybe that would eventually help. "Thank you, John. I appreciate your help."

"Of course. I do hope Tim gets through this all some way," John said.

"He will," Jenny said firmly before going up the stairs and out of MTAC.


	29. Chapter 29

Tim was laying in bed reading a book that Jenny had brought him. It was a crime novel, which was right up his alley. He was a little surprised that she knew what he liked to read now. Most of NCIS knew that he was into crime novels, as he'd written one, but he didn't think his aunt had paid him much attention before finding out who he really was. It seemed he was wrong.

Just then, Tim heard the door of his room open. He looked up to see Tony and Ziva there with some bags in their hands. He could only guess there was food in them, as the aroma of chinese food filled the room.

"Hey, Probie. We smuggled you some real food," Tony said.

Tim smiled. He was hungry for something other than the hospital food. "Thanks. It smells amazing."

Tony and Ziva both placed the bags on the food tray and took the food out before pushing it towards Tim.

Tim grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started with the rice.

Tony and Ziva sat down on either side of their friend and started eating as well. "So they tell you when you're getting out of here?"

"End of the week," Tim said in between bites.

"Uh, where will you be going?" Tony wondered, hoping the question wouldn't upset his friend, as he knew it might just bring attention to the fact that McGee couldn't simply go back to his apartment given his knee and feet problems.

"Jenny's probably," Tim said. He still thought it was a bad idea, but he had few options. It was either Jenny or a rehab center. He didn't want to go to rehab, which was really just another hospital. He hated hospitals. He spent almost a month in one when the McGees found him. It was selfish of him given that he still felt he was a danger to anyone who got close to him, but he preferred Jenny, both because of not wanting to go to rehab and because he loved her. He was giving into that for now.

"Okay, that will be strange," Tony said as he imagined his probie, who seemed completely nervous and intimidated by the redhead, living with her. He knew that she was McGee's aunt, but he didn't really think about what that meant until now. Too much had gone on for him to really think about the personal relationship between the two. They'd had to deal with McGee's kidnapping and then the aftermath of said kidnapping. It had been a very long several days.

"I practically grew up in that house, Tony, and I spent a lot of time with Jenny as a boy. It isn't strange for me," Tim said.

"Yeah, I know, but it's still hard to picture you with her as a kid. Although, I guess it's hard to see how superiors are with their family," Tony said.

"Yes, I would receive questions from other Mossad operatives when they first started about what my father was like at home. Although, he was not much different," Ziva said. Her father had run their home pretty much the same as he had the country. He was simply not a very warm person. She knew Jenny was not the same though. She'd known her before, so she seen the woman's soft and friendly side.

"Well, trust me, the hardass thing is not a facade. I've seen her get into it with people. Her and my father butted heads quite a bit," Tim said.

"Eh, brothers and sisters usually do, I'm guessing," Tony said.

"Yeah, I guess. I never got the chance to find out with my sister," Tim said sadly.

"So what was Jenny like with you?" Tony asked, trying to get the subject of such sad things. The point of their visit was to try to cheer their friend up a bit.

"She was great. I used to call her all the time. I'd tell her everything. About my schoolwork, my parents when I was mad at them, the first girl I ever liked. I don't think there was anything I wouldn't tell her," Tim said. He remembered his mom joking one day about how much he told his aunt. She'd asked if she should be worried that he talked to Jenny more than her.

"She cares just as much for you. She went on the battle path when she realized who you were and realized the danger you were in," Ziva said.

"Warpath," Tony corrected.

"What?" Ziva asked confused.

"You said battle path. It's warpath," Tony explained.

"It is the same thing," Ziva said.

"No, it's not. There is saying of someone going on the battlepath," Tony argued.

Tim smiled at their bickering. It was the most normal thing to happen since he left with Kort, and it was good to have something normal.

Just then, the door opened and a man with balding dark hair, wearing a suit, came in

"Can I help you?" Tim asked.

"Jasper?" The man asked.

"Do I know you?" Tim asked guardedly. His aunt was the only one who called him that. It made him suspicious to have some stranger do it, especially when they looked as smarmy as this guy.

The man walked towards him. "I'm Jacob Bruder. I worked with your father."

Tim stiffened. If this man worked with his dad, he was CIA, and most likely had an agenda, maybe to make him finish what he started with Kort in catching the terrorists they were after. And it pissed Tim off that they would use his father to accomplish that.

Tony stood up and glared at the man. "You people really have balls! You dare to come here after what you've done to him?"

"I'm simply visiting the son of a good friend," Bruder said.

"Friend? You call yourself his friend after working with his murderer?" Tim asked hotly. It was an insult to his father for this man to call him his friend. Tim knew why he was there. He and the rest of the CIA wanted his help.

"Jasper…"

"Do not call me that!" Tim growled. He didn't love when Jenny called him that, but she was his aunt and she did it because it was how she knew him and because she believed it would eventually help him. This man who wanted nothing but to manipulate him had no right.

"Working with Acosta wasn't my call to make. Besides, it's not black and white in the Agency. Sometimes you have to work with questionable people to get the greater evil," Bruder said.

Tim flashed back to hearing something similar from Kort right after he'd seen Acosta the first time since he was a kid. The only difference was that Bruder was nicer about it. "And you call yourself my father's friend. If you were his friend, then he's rolling over in his grave right now."

Bruder sighed. "Look, we need your help. We still have terrorists on the loose and we need you to help us find them. We're willing to look past what happened with Acosta if you'll help us."

"You are willing to look past it?" Ziva asked angrily before standing up. "You dare come here and make him the villain?!"

"His irresponsible actions killed a CIA informant," Bruder said.

"I am going to beat you to a pole. Luckily, you are in a hospital, so you might get prompt medical attention," Ziva said before lunging at the man.

Tony quickly got between them and pulled her back. "I'd love to see you kick his ass, Ziva, but I'd rather not see you arrested," he said before turning back to Brudar. "Get lost, you son of a bitch. He is guilty of nothing and you won't come after him. You know that Director Shepard will tear you apart and so will the rest of us."

Brudar kept his gaze on Tim. "Come on, Shepard. You owe it to your country and the Agency to help. What would your father think if you refuse?"

Tim glared fiercely at him. "Don't you ever mention my father again! My father was a dedicated, ethical agent. I know that concept is probably unrecognizable to you since you wouldn't anything about ethics. My father would tell you just what I'm going to know. Get the hell out. I owe you nothing, especially after you people blackmailed me into helping you. Leave."

"This isn't over," he said before walking away.

Tim looked at Tony and Ziva. "Thanks for trying to help."

"Of course we would help, McGee. That man was disgusting," Ziva said.

Tim nodded. The thing was that if the bastard had just asked for his help without making excuses, threats, and using his father, he probably would've agreed to help.

"You know, I figured Kort would try again, but I didn't think they'd send someone else," Tony said.

"Yeah, well, they probably thought I'd immediately agree if it was someone who knew my father. All it did was piss me off. Speaking of, I could really use some time alone right now," Tim said. He was really angry and needed time to himself.

"Yeah, sure. We'll come back tomorrow," Tony said. He and Ziva then quickly left the room.


	30. Chapter 30

Tim was in bed flipping through channels the next morning when he heard someone come in. He looked over to see Abby. He couldn't say he was thrilled. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her. It was just that he wasn't sure if he could handle her right now. She was always very dramatic and eccentric and he wasn't sure he could deal with it yet. "Hey, Abs."

"Hi. Sorry it took so long to get me here. The others wouldn't let me see you?" Abby said as she made her way over, kind of irritated by that fact.

"I figured that," Tim said. He knew Abby and she would've been there when he woke up if she could've been. It had probably taken everyone to keep her away. "They were looking out for me, Abby."

"I wasn't going to hurt you. I just wanted to see you and see if you were okay. That guy did a lot to you. He broke your knees and your feet and beat and stabbed you. He hurt you badly," Abby said before taking a seat in the chair by the bed.

Tim shifted uncomfortably just at the mention of Acosta. This conversation really needed to shift now because he did not wanna discuss Acosta and what he did. "How are things going at NCIS. I heard Jenny's taking time off." His aunt had come to see him last night. He'd agreed to go live with her and she told him about taking a leave of absence.

"Yeah, I guess the Assistant Director is taking over. I haven't seen him yet since he got in yesterday and it was Sunday," Abby said.

"Shouldn't you be there right now?" Tim asked.

"I'm gonna go in a couple hours later. I wanted to see you. I haven't had the chance yet," Abby said, still bitter about it. Even Gibbs had kept her away and she was supposed to be his favorite.

"Don't take it personal. Like I said, they were just looking out for me. For the first day or two, it was really just Jenny and Gibbs anyway," Tim said. It wasn't a hundred percent true. Tony had snuck in right after his first surgery. There was of course the FBI, but he didn't really count them since they kind of forced their visit.

"No, Tony came in that first day. I think the director's been keeping me away because she's mad at me," Abby said.

"If Jenny's been a little testy, it's not about you. It's been a hard week for her too and she didn't get a lot of sleep the first couple of nights," Tim said. He doubted his aunt was really angry at Abby. She was probably pissed about his injuries and since she couldn't go after Acosta, she took it out on who was around.

"No, she was mad at me. She snapped at me," Abby said. She'd been taken off guard when the director snapped at her. She didn't feel she deserved it. She hadn't said anything wrong. She'd said that McGee should've come to them instead of letting Kort blackmail him. He should've. He wouldn't be in the hospital now if he had.

"What about?" Tim wondered.

"Well, I said something about you agreeing to go along with Kort," Abby said a bit vaguely.

It didn't take Tim much to guess what happened. Abby was mad that he didn't tell her the truth and his aunt defended him. "I guess I owe her a thank you."

"But, Timmy, you should've come to us. You shouldn't have gone with Kort. You prefered to go with him and possibly die than confide in us. How could you not trust us? I don't even get why it came to all this for us to find out who you really are. You're supposed to be Tim McGee, but you're not. How could you lie to us all this time?" Abby asked.

"I was protecting myself and the people I love. You have no idea what I went through with Acosta. You can't imagine what it's like to watch those you love die and then get tortured on a daily basis by their killer. I was a little boy! I didn't even know that such evil existed in a human being. Acosta was worse than any monster movie I ever watched or any villain in a comic book. He destroyed my life! I had to find a way to survive what he did to me. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest way, but my way was to become someone else and let the person I was die. He was practically dead anyway, so I didn't see the problem. The name Tim McGee was given to me and I saw an opportunity to become someone new," Tim said.

"Why though? Didn't it bother you that your family thought you were dead? How did you justify that?"Abby asked.

Tim glared at her. Judging her on Kort was one thing, but she had no right to weigh in on a choice he'd made when he was a child. Jenny was the only one alive with that right. Thankfully, she hadn't. She didn't like his choice, but she didn't judge it. "That's not really any of your business, but I was trying to protect them. Acosta was a sadistic son of a bitch. What was to stop him from going after my family to get to me. I hoped he'd just think I died after escaping and leave the remainder of my family be. Thankfully he did let them be. Are you done judging the choices of an extremely damaged teenager yet?"

"I...I'm not trying to judge you," Abby said.

"Well, then I'd hate to see what it would be like if you tried. I don't need you to tell me I screwed up with Kort. I will have reminders of that for the rest of my life. Every day I get around with the use of a wheelchair. As for the rest, you didn't know me and you have no right to say my choices were wrong!" Tim said bitingly.

"Don't talk like that. You could still walk. The doctors could be wrong," Abby said.

Tim shook his head. "This is why you were kept away from me. It wasn't because my aunt was mad at you. It was because she and everyone else was trying to protect me from joining in your denial. I've accepted my fate. I may hate it, but I accept it. Now I really need you to go. I've had enough."

"Timmy…"

"Go, Abby!" Tim yelled angrily. He had been worried about a visit from Abby making things worse for him and it seemed he was right. In ways, it was worse than the visit from the jackass CIA agent yesterday.

Surprised by her friend's anger, Abby immediately got up and bolted from the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny was livid. She was in her office at NCIS on the phone with the CIA director, again. When she got there that morning to make sure Acting Director Vance was up to date on everything he needed to, she'd seen Tony and he'd told her about the incident in her nephew's room with the CIA agent. He'd slipped at first and tried to backtrack, but Jenny did have that and forced it all out of him.

Needless to say, she was pissed. She'd kicked Vance out for a minute so she could call and deal with the bastards. "You people are well on your way to making sure NCIS never works with your agency again. I don't give a damn about your case! You people ruined any help I might have offered you by first involving Acosta and then blackmailing my nephew! And then you send another slimeball to the hospital while he's recovering and you threaten him and emotionally blackmail him?!

Just then, Gibbs walked in, causing Jenny to put her hand up to silence him. He walked over to her desk and stood there waiting.

"Director, you need to keep your people the hell away from my nephew. The next person who comes after him will come back to you in pieces!" Jenny yelled before hanging up the phone.

"Do I wanna know?" Gibbs asked.

"I guess DiNozzo didn't tell you. An agent showed up yesterday at Jasper's room. They wanted to get him back on their case. They tried to threaten him by blaming him for what happened with Acosta and then used my brother to try to get him to do it," Jenny seethed. She was ready to murder everyone with 'CIA' in their credentials.

"Getting damn sick of the CIA, Jen," Gibbs said. He was irritated as well. Tim didn't deserve this. He didn't need to be bullied by the CIA along with everything else he had to deal with.

Jenny hissed angrily. "My brother would be horrified by this. He would be pissed at the way the agency he dedicated a good portion of his life to was treating his son.

Gibbs sighed. "It doesn't look like they're giving up, Jen. You may wanna take steps to protect you and Tim."

"You mean like a restraining order or something?" Jenny asked. She actually had thought of that and planned to speak to her nephew about it. He didn't deserve for this to keep happening. They were harassing him and she wanted it to stop.

"You could, but that's not what I was talking about. I mean you gotta talk to SecNav before the CIA decides to get spiteful and go public," Gibbs said.

"They wouldn't dare do that. They have just as much to lose with what they did to him. I've already made it very clear that I have no problem leaking the Acosta situation, as well as them blackmailing Jasper," Jenny said.

"They could find a way around that. Besides, the truth will come out sooner or later. The FBI has put a lid on it for now, but it won't last long. Eventually, the press is gonna get wind of the situation. SecNav won't take too kindly to finding out that way. You don't disclose first, he's gonna think you've known much longer than you have," Gibbs warned.

Jenny sighed, knowing he was right. She'd been putting it off to spare her nephew everyone learning the truth as long as possible, but it was going to come out publicly soon. "Okay, I'll talk to Jasper about it. I'm not going to tell anyone anything, even SecNav without his permission. Right now, I'd better get Vance back in here and get him briefed on everything. Did you need anything when you came in?"

"Yeah, before you go, my team needs a break too. We're a man down and everyone's still reeling. Don't think taking cases right now is for the best," Gibbs said.

Jenny nodded. "I was already planning to speak to Vance about taking you all off rotation for the next few weeks. I can explain that Jasper is hospitalized without telling him who he really is and how it happened."

"Okay. See you later," Gibbs said before heading back out of the room.


	31. Chapter 31

Jenny walked into her nephew's room that night and found him thrashing in be in his sleep. She immediately went to his side. "Jasper, wake up."

Tim didn't appear to hear her. He kept tossing and turning and groaning his sleep.

Jenny lifted her hand to shake him, but hesitated. Her nephew was having a nightmare and the chances of it not being about Acosta were less than percent. He could very well react violently and hurt himself. On the other hand though, if he kept thrashing like this, he was going to aggravate his injuries and hurt himself anyway. So she gently shook his shoulder.

"Get off me!" Tim screamed as he flinched violently. His eyes popped open and he realized he was dreaming. The only one there was his aunt.

"Are you okay?" Jenny asked.

Tim took a couple of deep breaths. "Yeah."

Jenny poured him a glass of water from the table next to him. "Here, drink this."

Tim took it and took a big sip. "Thank you."

"Are you alright? You were thrashing wildly. Are you hurt?" Jenny asked concerned.

"No more so than a few hours ago. I'm fine," Tim said before taking another sip of water.

"Do you wanna talk about your dream?" Jenny asked. She knew he'd say no, but she wanted him to know she was willing to listen on the off chance that he did want to.

Tim immediately shook his head no.

"Okay," Jenny said simply before sitting down.

Tim sighed in relief. He was afraid she'd push the issue and try to force him to talk about it. He'd had a lot of people try that when he was a kid.

"Do you want to try to go back to sleep? I can come back tomorrow if you want," Jenny said.

"No, it's fine. I'm not really interested in sleep right now anyway," Tim said. That dream left him in no hurry to go back to sleep. He didn't need to revisit it.

"I've started getting things ready for when you come home. I'm having ramps set up. It should all be ready by the end of the week," Jenny said.

Tim chuckled. "If that's true, it's impressive. Less than a week isn't an easy deadline to meet."

Jenny grinned. "Gibbs isn't the only one who can set hard deadlines. I was also at NCIS today setting things up for Vance. I spoke with Tony. We need to talk about the CIA."

Tim groaned. "I should've told him not to say anything. I thought he'd figure that out on his own."

"No, you should've told me yourself. The CIA is harassing you, Jasper. I need to know about that," Jenny said.

"It wasn't a big deal. I handled it myself," Tim said sort of defensively. He didn't want his aunt thinking she had to be there to defend him constantly. He wasn't a little boy anymore. He could handle the CIA.

"I'm well aware that you're capable of taking care of yourself, Jasper. You have proven that fact in the last eighteen years. You survived a lot of trauma and pain. But you shouldn't have to deal with the CIA on top of everything else, especially considering that they are responsible," Jenny said.

"I agreed," Tim said. Yes, he agreed that Kort and the rest of the CIA were partially responsible, but ultimately, he bore the responsibility for succumbing to them.

"Under duress. It wasn't your fault," Jenny told him.

"Not everyone sees it that way," Tim said bitterly as he thought back on his conversation with Abby.

Jenny frowned. "What do you mean?"

Tim sighed and said one word. "Abby."

Jenny's face darkened. She had a lot of respect for Abby, or at least she did, but her tolerance for the goth was diminishing. She had no right judging Jasper for what he did. She had no idea what it was like for him to live through his family's murderers, as well as extreme torture. None of them knew that trauma and couldn't judge until they did. "What did she say?"

"Same thing she said to you. Thank you for defending me and for keeping her away," Tim said.

"Of course. I obviously should've done it for longer. I can't believe she's still acting this way. I'd hoped she'd realize that trying to judge you is wrong. She has no right," Jenny said firmly.

"I told her that. I got really angry. It wasn't just the thing with Kort. She lectured me about keeping quiet years ago too. She basically said it was heartless of me not to let you know where I was," Tim told her.

"What?!" Jenny asked angrily.

"Is she right? Do you think I was heartless?" Tim asked. He still felt Abby had no right to judge him and he felt no guilt for the way he responded to her, but Jenny did have the right to judge him on the matter and he'd spent a lot of time thinking about it since Abby left.

"No! I think you were a little boy who didn't have a single clue how to handle things after a year of being tortured. You were so traumatized that you couldn't even bring yourself to speak for over a year. I don't blame you for the way you handled things. There was no right way to handle them," Jenny said.

"Did you speak to the Admiral? Did he tell you I didn't speak for a year?" Tim asked, as he didn't remember telling her that. He assumed she did speak to the Admiral. He expected her to.

"Yes, but I'd already known that. Gibbs got a hold of the information when you were missing," Jenny said.

Tim cringed, knowing exactly what they must have seen and read about. "You saw the pictures. That's how you knew who I was."

"No, I didn't see any pictures. Gibbs didn't actually show me the file. We found out because he had Abby run a DNA test. I was shocked to hear that we were related. Gibbs was the one to figure out who you were to me. He'd just found out about our family history with Acosta," Jenny explained

Tim sighed in relief, happy to know that his aunt had not seen the physical evidence of how damaged he was. But Gibbs saw them and possibly other members of his team. He hated that almost as much. "Please don't ever look at them. I don't ever want you to see those photos. I hate that Gibbs has seen them."

"Jasper, I will not think you weak because of those pictures," Jenny said.

"I don't care. Please, Aunt Jen, promise me you'll never look at them," Tim begged. It wasn't just for his benefit that he didn't want her to see them. He'd seen those pictures himself. He'd looked at the file himself years after it was made. He knew how gruesome they were. It would make his aunt sick to see them

Jenny sighed. "Alright. I promise not to look at them."

"Thank you."

"We need to talk about the CIA," Jenny said.

Jasper groaned. "I told you, I handled it."

"I know, but they're not going to give up. Gibbs mentioned that they might try to go public with your identity in retaliation. I personally don't think they will. They have much more to lose by doing it, given what happened, but it's possible, and even if they don't, it's going to come out," Jenny said.

"I know," Tim said. He knew that eventually, the press would find out and leak it. It would create way too much publicity for them not to air it. He was a federal agent, the son of another federal agent, the nephew of the NCIS director, and the victim of a known career criminal. Every reporter would want to cover his story.

"I need to disclose to SecNav before that happens. He can't find out from the press. Also, he will be able to help keep the CIA away if he knows," Jenny said.

"The entire office is going to find out," Tim said unhappily. He didn't want anyone to know and see how weak he was.

"We can't stop that from happening, Jasper," she said.

Tim nodded that he knew. "I understand. Do I have to be there?"

"No. I can do it myself. He may ask to speak with you at a later time though," Jenny said.

"Okay. When will you do it?" Tim asked.

"Probably within a day or two," Jenny said.

Tim nodded and decided to change the subject. "So what did the Admiral tell you?" he asked. He wasn't upset that she spoke to him. He knew she would talk to him. She would want to find out as much as she could about what happened when he was found.

"Not a lot. I wanted to know exactly how bad things were for you once you were rescued. I hoped it would help me help you. It didn't do much good though. Admiral McGee couldn't tell me much. He said that you weren't close to his family though.

Tim shook his head. "No, I wasn't. The Admiral's the one I liked the most though. It's surprising because we were so different, but we had an understanding. He didn't expect me to act like he was my father. Neither one of us wanted that. I could deal with him. I could barely handle her. She wanted to be my mother and I wouldn't let her. I couldn't. I couldn't betray my own mother like that."

"Your mother wouldn't have felt betrayed. Amy loved you more than anything. She would've been happy for you to find happiness again," Jenny told him.

"I know. I know she wouldn't have seen it as a betrayal, but I did. I also saw it as this woman trying to take her place. To be fair, she probably didn't think I had a good mother. I knew what she thought. She saw how badly I was hurt. She thought I was abused. That's what everyone thought and I let them. I know it was wrong to let them think that," Tim said. He'd felt a lot of guilt over that, but he didn't have any other choice. He couldn't tell the truth.

"Jasper…"

"No, I know how wrong it was. I let my parents be thought as abusers. They were far from that. They loved me and I hated what everyone thought of them," Tim said as his voice began to crack.

Jenny grabbed his hand. "Jasper, don't beat yourself up over it. They would understand."

Tim took a deep breath. "Do you? Do you understand why I didn't say anything about Acosta or why I didn't tell anyone who I was?"

"Yes, I think so. You were scared. You were afraid he'd come after you again?" Jenny asked.

Tim nodded. "And if I made it back, you and Grandpa too. I knew Acosta wouldn't be happy that I escaped. He'd come after me to finish what he started. That's why I never told anyone my name. Well, that was the original reason anyway. Maybe Abby's right and it was heartless, but it wasn't meant to be."

"I understand. You didn't think anyone could stop Acosta. I'm guessing to you he was this powerful monster that could never be stopped," Jenny said. She knew exactly what her nephew at age twelve would've thought about the man who murdered his entire family and then tortured him.

"Yes. That's exactly what I thought. It took me a long time to realize that he was just a really evil person that was lucky enough to not be caught. At the time, I was scared he'd find me and do everything all over again. I had to protect myself and you, so I kept quiet. I hated letting my parents seem like bad people and not being able to see you, but I had to protect the rest of us," Tim explained. He was glad she understood. Abby could believe whatever she wanted. Jenny's opinion was the one that mattered the most. She was the only one who even had a right to question his actions back then.

"I'm guessing that that was the original reason you embraced a new identity," Jenny said.

"Yeah. Jasper Shepard was a wanted man. Acosta was looking and would get me again. But he didn't want Tim McGee. He didn't know him. I could hide in plain sight with the McGee family. After a while, mostly after they stopped shoving shrinks down my throat and finally left me alone about what happened, I started telling myself that that was who I was. I was almost able to separate Tim McGee from Jasper Shepard III. It made it easier to deal with," Tim said. At that moment, he seemed to catch himself. He realized what he was saying and to whom and he had to stop. He was supposed to keep Jenny at a distance. That was the only way to protect her. It was bad enough that he was going to be staying with her. He couldn't let her get too close to him. "I don't wanna talk about this anymore.

Jenny mentally cursed. He was pushing her away again. She really didn't understand why he kept doing that. Why did he keep himself so distanced from her? What was he afraid of? She wished he'd just let her in completely. But at least he'd let her in some. Hopefully it would keep happening and he'd stop pushing her away. For now, she'd have to let it go. She didn't want him to shut down on her permanently. "Okay. I'll come come by tomorrow and see how you're doing."

Tim nodded.

Jenny got up after a second and headed for the door.


	32. Chapter 32

Jenny walked in to MTAC where the Secretary of the Navy PHillip Davenport was waiting for her. "Hello, sir, thank you for meeting with me."

"Of course. In fact, I planned to call a meeting with you anyway. I've heard that an NCIS agent was tortured and put in the hospital. Leon didn't seem to know much about it. I expect that you intend to fill me in, Director," SecNav said.

"Yes, sir. How much of my family history are you aware of, Secretary Davenport," Jenny asked.

"All of it. I of course read your file when I appointed you director and I know about things not in that file as well," he said.

"My brother and his family?" Jenny asked.

"Yes. Anyone who worked in federal law enforcement most likely knew about it. Your brother was a CIA agent and he was slaughtered alongside his family by a sociopath," SecNav said.

Jenny couldn't help but flinch at the casual mention of what happened to her family.

"I apologize, I shouldn't have put it like that. I don't want to seem insensitive, but what does this have to do with an attack on an NCIS agent?" he asked.

"The agent was attacked by Sebastian Acosta," Jenny said.

SecNav looked skeptical as he sat back in his chair. "Is this proven fact or are you speculating. No offense, but you are not exactly objective."

"It's proven fact, sir," Jenny said through gritted teeth. If he wasn't her boss and she didn't need him on her side, she'd be screaming at her.

"Again, I don't mean to be insensitive. Is Acosta in custody?" SecNav asked.

"No, sir. He was killed by Local LEOs as he was preparing to murder Special Agent Timothy McGee," Jenny said.

"McGee? He works on the MCRT, right?"

"Yes, sir. He's the junior agent under Agent Gibbs' command," Jenny said.

"What exactly did Acosta have to gain from killing Agent McGee?" SecNav questioned.

Jenny cleared her throat. "It goes back to my family history. Since you're aware of the situation, you know that most of my brother's family was declared dead when they were found. His twelve-year-old son, however was not found. He was considered dead, but there was no proof of that, no body. I recently learned that is because he was not dead and is in fact Special agent McGee.

Secretary Davenport looked stunned. "Your nephew is an agent under your command?"

"Yes, sir. I was not informed of that until after Acosta got his hands on him, with help from the CIA," Jenny said, letting a bit of anger show through at the end.

"You need to explain that," he said firmly.

"On October 22, CIA agent Trent Kort coerced Agent McGee out of the building using blackmail. The intention was apparently to get his help in a terrorist case. The CIA was also using Acosta for this case," Jenny explained.

"Using a wanted criminal who decimated at least one entire family?! That is a disaster waiting to happen, which apparently it did. How exactly did it get out of control?" SecNav asked.

"Kort left Acosta alone with just one guard. Acosta overpowered and killed that agent. Agent McGee wasn't present at that time. When he returned, Acosta overpowered him. He took him to an abandoned warehouse and tortured him relentlessly and finally attempted to kill him. Local LEO's got there just in time," Jenny said. She got more angry the more she spoke. She wished Acosta was still alive so that she could make him feel some of what Jasper did. She wanted to do something very similar to Kort too.

"And you say you were not aware that Agent McGee was your nephew?"

"No, sir," she said.

"It doesn't look good, Shepard. People are going to think that you did know and gave preferential treatment," SecNav said.

"With all due respect, sir, I'm not really concerned with what others think right now. My nephew is my only concern," Jenny said firmly.

"What is his condition?" SecNav asked.

"He's out of danger, but his recovery will be very difficult," Jenny said evasively. She would not go into details. It wasn't Davenport's business.

SecNav nodded that he understood her position. "The CIA orchestrated this whole thing. They can't be happy that things turned out this way."

"No, they're not. They blame my nephew for Acosta's death and they're also still trying to coerce him into helping their case," Jenny said angrily.

"Okay, I will handle the CIA. I'm not going to let an agent be further victimized by these people. Rest assured, it will stop. I will also make sure that any questions of Agent McGee's conduct are laid to rest," he said.

"Thank you, sir," Jenny said gratefully. She would handle the CIA if she needed to, but she was glad for the help. This way she could just focus on helping Jasper recover as well as possible.

"I believe you when you say you didn't know this man was your family, so there won't be any inquires there either, but I can't control what everyone else thinks when it comes out," SecNav said.

"I understand. Thank you, sir."

"Not a problem. Let me know if you need anything else," he said.

Jenny nodded and then cut the connection.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony made his way to his friend's hospital room. When he got there, Tim was wheeled out by an orderly. "Hey, Probie. Where you going?"

"Away from that damn room. I'm gonna go nuts if I don't get a change of scenery. I've gotta get used to this damned thing anyway," Tim said. The last part was said a bit sadly.

"Cool, I'll come with you," he said before looking at the orderly. "I'll help him when he's ready to get back in bed."

The orderly nodded and walked away.

Tony and Tim headed down the hall. "So, I'm sure you know this already, but I kind of spilled to Jenny about the CIA prick."

Tim chuckled. "Yes, I know."

"To be fair, I kind of thought she already knew and when I realized she didn't, I tried to go back, but she wasn't having it," Tony said.

"Oh, I'm sure. I can picture the scene in my head right now. Jenny can be scarier than Gibbs. My dad used to tell me that it was a perk of being a red head," Tim said.

Tony gasped in fake surprise. "So that's why Gibbs likes red heads."

Tim laughed.

"Hey, does it bother you that they were together?" Tony wondered.

"It was certainly unnerving at first and I tried very hard not to think about it," Tim said. The thought of his aunt and his boss together was kind of freaky. Gibbs may have become very close to becoming his uncle at some point and that was just weird to think about.

"You think they'll ever try again?" Tony asked teasingly.

"And now you're making hard for me not to think about it. Do you know how weird that would be around the office. Or maybe not since I probably won't be there," Tim said, suddenly depressed. If he did go back to NCIS, it wouldn't be as a field agent. It would be something like Cyber crimes.

Tony wanted to reassure his friend, but thought better of it. It would probably be better to just change the subject for now. "So I realized something we have in common."

"Really? I can't think of much we'd have in common," Tim said. He considered Tony a friend, but they were polar opposites.

"We're both named after our fathers. How did people differentiate between you, your dad, and your grandfather. With me, I was Tony and my father was Anthony. You don't really have that with Jasper," Tony said.

"My father actually went by Jay. It was only really confusing when my grandfather was around, but even then, most of the time we were able to tell who was being spoken to," Tim said.

"Did it bother you being named after others. I know I hated being compared to my father," Tony said. There was also the fact that everyone called him Junior a lot. Hell, his father called him that even as an adult. It was annoying.

"No. I idolized my father and grandfather and I felt proud and important being named after them," Tim said. It was another reason he hated Acosta. Acosta had taken that from him when he took away his ability to go by his own name. Technically, he could use it, but it terrified him to because a lot of pain came with it.

"Well, you didn't have the burden of Junior on the end. I swear, everyone calls you Junior at one point when you do have it," Tony said.

"Yeah, Aunt Jen used to call my dad that at times just to piss him off," Tim said with a smile.

"That's what you call her?" Tony asked somewhat freaked out.

Tim laughed. "She's my aunt, Tony. I'm not going to keep calling her 'Director Shepard'."

"Right. It's just kind of weird," Tony said.

"I thought it would be too, but as soon as she realized the truth, I stopped seeing her as a boss. She was just my aunt again," Tim said before stopping his chair.

"You okay?" Tony asked concerned.

"Yeah, but I think I should go back. I'm getting tired and I could use some pain meds," Tim said. His pain was starting to act up, especially in his feet and knees. It was about five, so that was kind of expected. His pain always got worse in the evening.

"Sure, man, let's go," Tony said before taking control of the chair and starting back to his friend's room.


	33. Chapter 33

Tim was finally able to leave the hospital on Friday. He couldn't be happier about that fact. He really hated hospitals. Though he wasn't sure how much better it would be at his aunt's. There were a lot of memories in that house. Aside from his house with his parents and sister, that was where he spent most of his time. He just wasn't sure how he was going to deal with so many memories of that time.

Once they got to Jenny's, she and Gibbs got out of the car. Gibbs had come with them so that he could help get Tim out of the car, since he couldn't really move his legs and Jenny wasn't strong enough to support his weight.

Jenny got the wheelchair out of the trunk and brought it over to the backseat.

Gibbs opened the door. "Ready?"

Tim cringed slightly, but nodded. It was pretty embarrassing to have to have your boss pretty much carry you out of the car because you couldn't move your legs. It wasn't a position he ever wanted to be in with Gibbs. It was embarrassing enough when a couple of orderlies had to do it at the hospital, but this was someone he knew.

Gibbs gently took his arm and started pulling him out of the car. Once he got him mostly out, he grabbed ahold of his torso so he could support his weight and dragged him as gently as possible until he was in the chair.

Tim groaned slightly throughout the process. It aggravated his injuries quite a bit.

"You alright," Jenny asked.

"Yeah," Tim said.

Gibbs grabbed ahold of the back of the wheelchair and started wheeling him towards the house. Jenny went ahead to open the door.

Tim was taken up the ramp that was off to the side of the porch and led into the house. He felt a sense of deja vu when he got inside. He remembered walking into that house all his life before Acosta destroyed it. Of course, it seemed much bigger when he was younger, but everything does when you're a child.

The next thing Tim noticed was the stairs. There was a wheelchair lift attached to it. He hated it. He needed it and he hated that fact. It just made this condition that much more real. It wasn't like he was in denial or anything. He knew what he was in for, but he could try to forget it sometimes. ramps and stairlifts made that harder.

Gibbs followed Tim's eyes and knew what the problem was. "You need it, Tim."

"I know, Boss, but I don't like it. Would you?" Tim asked.

"Nope," Gibbs admitted. He'd hate all this if he was Tim. In fact, the kid was handling this swimmingly compared to how he would.

Tim grabbed the wheels of his chair, careful to avoid his broken finger and started towards the living room. It was a little different than he remembered, though it wasn't surprising. It had been eighteen years, so things were bound to be somewhat different, like the furniture. The pictures around the room were mostly the same though, with just a couple of new ones to go with them and a couple of others that were taken down.

Tim went over to the end table by the couch and picked up a photo of his father and grandfather. He hadn't seen the face of either man, even in a picture, for eighteen years. Seeing one now brought a stab of pain to his heart. He missed his family so much. It never faded or got easier to deal with, even after almost twenty years.

"Jasper?"

Tim put the picture back down and turned to his aunt. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, fine," Tim lied.

Jenny's eyes went to the photo her nephew was just looking at. "I can put it away if you want." She wanted Jasper to be as comfortable as possible while he was there. If the pain of seeing his father's picture was too great right now, she'd put it away for a while.

Tim looked at the picture again for moment before turning back to her and shaking his head. It was difficult to see that picture and deal with the memories of losing family, but it wouldn't be right to get rid of it. It felt disrespectful to his father's memory. Besides, a part of him wanted to see his dad's face. "No,, it's okay."

Jenny went over and picked up the photo. "Your grandfather put most of the pictures away years ago. It was hard for him to look at them everyday too. It was for both of us. But he could never put this one away."

"What happened to him? To Grandpa?" Tim asked. He knew that his grandfather was dead, but he never knew how it happened.

Jenny wasn't surprised that he didn't know. Gibbs knew, but he wouldn't have released that information to any of his people. He didn't let out secrets like that.

Jenny sat down in an armchair next to her nephew. "He was said to have killed himself after being accused to taking a bribe."

"No way!" Tim exclaimed. He might have been a child when he last saw his grandfather, but he knew him and he would never believe either of those things about the man.

"I agree with you. I spent most of my life since he died trying to prove that or at least bring the man who did it down for something," Jenny said.

"La Grenouille?" Tim asked. He was the only one he could think of. His aunt had been pretty obsessed with La Grenouille. It made sense if he had murdered her father.

"Yeah. I never could prove it, but I know he was responsible. He was the second sociopath to attack our family. It drove me nuts and I wasn't about to let him get away like Acosta had. I wanted to bring him down," Jenny said fiercely.

Tim nodded. He understood now. Before he'd been a little worried about his aunt's obsession with this guy and hadn't liked how far she'd gone, like with having Tony go undercover, but he understood now. he probably would've helped her himself if he knew, maybe even offered himself up as the undercover agent. Everyone thought he'd make a lousy undercover agent, but he did know how to lie and hide things when he had to. The fact that he'd worked at NCIS for five years and no one discovered the truth about him was proof of that. "He'll pay someday."

Jenny considered telling her nephew that he already had. No one yet knew that La Grenouille was dead or that she killed him. She thought about telling Jasper. He deserved honesty from her, especially about this. It was his family too. But before she could decide to tell him, Gibbs came in.

"Hey, Tim, all your bags are upstairs," Gibbs said. He and Jenny had gone to Tim's apartment to grab some stuff for him before picking him up from the hospital.

"Thanks, Boss," Tim said.

Jenny stood up. "You wanna get upstairs and settle in. I'm sure you're tired and in pain. I picked up your prescription. How about we get you into bed and drugged up and in bed?"

Tim smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'll help. You got someone coming to help him in the future, right, Jen?" Gibbs asked. Tim was going to need to a lot of help getting in and out of that chair, among other things, and not only would Jenny not be able to help him with all that, but he doubted Tim would feel real comfortable with her helping him with things like bathing and getting dressed.

"Yeah, I have a male nurse who will be here in about an hour or so," Jenny said.

Gibbs nodded and went to help Tim. He wheeled him out of the room and towards the stairs.


	34. Chapter 34

The next day, Tim made his way out of bed and to the stairs with the help of the male nurse his aunt had hired. It was extremely embarrassing having the man helping him in and out of bed and with all the other personal things he had to do, like bathing, going to the bathroom, and getting dressed. It also had him feeling pretty helpless, as he could do hardly anything for himself. He loathed feeling helpless. He reminded him once more of being at the mercy of Acosta. And it wasn't like he needed any reminders of that.

"I've got it from here, Mike," Tim told the man as he made it to the stair lift.

"Are you sure?" Mike asked.

Tim nodded and pushed the button to move downstairs. Just as he got to the bottom floor, he heard the doorbell. He immediately wheeled himself to the front door and opened it. He found Ziva on the other side. "Hey, Ziva. Come in."

"Hello, McGee," Ziva said before walking inside and closing the door behind her. "How are you?"

"Alright," Tim said.

"Are you feeling at all better?" Ziva asked.

"Not much, but pain meds do wonders," Tim said as he led her into the dining room. "Do you want anything. If you do, you'll have to get it yourself as I'm a bit inept at the moment and Jenny's not home."

Ziva chuckled a little. "I am fine."

"Feel free to sit down," Tim said before wheeling himself to an empty spot at the table.

Ziva sat down at the end of the table. "Are you settling in here alright?"

"Yeah, it wasn't that hard I figured all the memories here would make things worse. I've tried really hard to keep who I am now and who I was then at a distance. And it is kind of difficult at times, but at the same time, feeling at home here wasn't hard. This was a second home to me my whole life," Tim said.

"That is good," Ziva said.

"I guess. I still feel like I shouldn't be here," Tim slipped. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Why do you say that?" Ziva asked.

"Uh, it's nothing. It's just like I said, I've tried to let this life go," Tim said.

"That is why you went with Kort. You did not want anyone to know," Ziva said.

"That's right. I look back and I know it was a stupid thing to do. It didn't even help. All it did was render me virtually handicapped," Tim said as he looked down.

"I think you should know that I was the reason the truth about you came out. Gibbs asked me to look into your past and I called the McGees and then got ahold of your file," Ziva said. She wasn't sorry she had done those things, but she felt her friend deserved to know she'd done it.

Tim smiled slightly to let Ziva know he held no resentment for it. "You were trying to save me. You didn't know what you'd find, and even if you had, it wasn't done to hurt me. Besides, it probably would've come out anyway. I should've realized that."

"Well, I definitely did not know what I'd find," Ziva said with a shudder as she thought once more about those pictures.

"So you saw those pictures too, huh?" Tim asked. He didn't like that she saw them. He didn't want anyone to have seen them. He didn't want the people he cared about to know that he'd ever been that vulnerable and hurt, and he didn't want them to pity him because of it."

"Yes. I was not prepared when I saw those pictures. I have seen terrible things happen and heard of them happening, but what happened to you and your family is one of the worst. I am very sorry, McGee. I hope you do not think I believe any less of you. I do not think you are weak because of what you went through. It was the opposite. I find you to be much stronger than I gave you credit for," Ziva said.

Tim did a doubletake at his friend's words. He couldn't believe she'd ever think the word 'strong' when it came to those photos. Those photo's detailed the weakest points of his life. "Strong? You can't possibly mean that after reading that file. I am not strong."

"Of course you are. You survived torture as a young child and become a wonderful person. Most people either would have died from the torture or killed themselves afterwards," Ziva said.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "No, I didn't. I didn't survive. Ziva, you have no idea what I was like then. I was a happy, innocent kid. I'm not anymore. That kid is dead. He didn't survive anything. I didn't survive. Being alive is not the save as surviving. And trust me, there are more than a few times where I wished I wasn't alive. But the fact that I am just means that the world won't let me die."

"Have you ever considered killing yourself?" Ziva asked. She regretted the question as soon as she finished asking. She was not sure she would like the answer.

"Several times," Tim said bluntly. He wouldn't lie about it. He'd wished for death more times than he could even remember. "I don't know why I haven't followed through with those wishes. Maybe it's because the last thing my father begged for before he died was my life. Maybe I just can't ignore that last wish."

"Whatever it is that kept you from doing it, allow that to continue. I know that life may not seem worth living to you, but we do not want to lose you," Ziva said. It absolutely horrified her that McGee was willing to end his life, however, it wasn't surprising given how he'd suffered.

"I'm not planning on killing myself, even if I wish I was dead most of the time," Tim said.

Ziva was not comforted much comforted by that. "Life cannot all be bad for you. I have seen you happy."

"Not often. The bad memories outway the good by a lot. Listen, Ziva, I can't talk anymore today. I'm really tired," Tim said. He'd talked about his pain much longer than he'd intended to. He supposed it was easier to talk with Ziva because he knew she'd seen dark moments in her life in Mossad as well. But he'd had enough.

"Of course. I will let myself out," Ziva said before standing up. "I will come visit you again soon," Ziva said.

"Thanks," Tim said before watching her leave the room.


	35. Chapter 35

Jenny opened her front door to see Gibbs there. "Jethro, come in."

"Morning, Jen," Gibbs said as he walked inside.

"You want some coffee?" Jenny asked as she led him towards the kitchen.

"That a real question?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny laughed and headed for the coffee pot as soon as she made it to the kitchen. She grabbed a mug from the cabinet above and poured a cup of coffee before handing it to Gibbs.

"Thanks. Where's Tim?" Gibbs asked.

"Still sleeping," she said.

"Those drugs they have him on are probably pretty strong," Gibbs said before taking a sip of his coffee.

Jenny nodded in agreement. The drugs weren't the only reason her nephew hadn't risen yet though. He hadn't slept well the night before. He didn't sleep well any night. She heard him wake up screaming in the middle of the night every night since he got there.

"How's he doing?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny sighed. "I don't know. I guess he's coping, but he won't really talk about it or with me at all."

Gibbs was sad to hear that. He'd hoped Tim would start opening up to Jenny, like he'd advised, but it appeared he was determined to push the only family he had left away. He didn't know if that was because of the survivor's guilt he'd admitted to or because he still hoped to keep his former life separate from his present one, but it wasn't good for him either way. He needed Jenny. He had to accept that. "He loves you, Jen."

"I know that," Jenny said before leading the way out of the kitchen and into the living room where the two sat down on the couch. "I know he's not pushing me away because of any personal reason. He's not doing it because he's angry at me. I honestly wish that was the reason because then I'd know the answer and I could try to fix it. I don't know why he insists on pushing me away. Every time he starts to open up to me, he catches himself and he backs off immediately."

"He's messed up. I think what Acosta did screwed his head up even worse than his body," Gibbs said.

"Yeah. I"m glad that SOB is dead, but I wish I'd had the chance to give him just a flicker of the suffering he caused my family," Jenny said with rage in her voice.

"That was never gonna happen. You were never getting your hands on Acosta," Gibbs said firmly.

"So Fornell did have help in finding Kort's secret apartment," Jenny said with a knowing look. She hadn't realized it at the time, but later, she'd concluded that Gibbs was the reason the FBI got to that apartment before they did.

Gibbs nodded. "Couldn't let you kill him, Jen. If you killed him, Acosta would've succeeded in taking the last person Tim had away from him. I couldn't let that happen. He'd lost enough. You wouldn't have seen that though. You were too angry and too scared to get the future consequences of it. You weren't rational enough. I wouldn't have been either."

Jenny had to concede that he was right. Killing Acosta would've saved her nephew, but ultimately, it would've caused him even more pain. She wouldn't have seen that before, but she did know, so she was grateful for the effort. "Thank you."

Gibbs nodded. "Just wish we'd found them a bit earlier and that it had worked. Tim would still be messed up, but he would've been saved from more torture and life changing injuries."

"I'm really sure how to help him, Jethro. He keeps pushing me away for some unknown reason. I don't know how to get past that," Jenny said.

"He's here at least," Gibbs said.

"Because he didn't have any other choice. It was this or a rehab center. He didn't have any other option," Jenny said.

Gibbs couldn't deny that was true. Well, it was partially true. Any of the team would've let him stay with them if he'd asked. Hell, Gibbs himself normally would've offered, but he wanted Tim to go to Jenny's. He didn't want to give him another option because it was Jenny he needed. She was his only family and the only one who could understand a flicker of his pain, and she was one who could judge what he needed the most. Gibbs wanted him to let her help him. He didn't want to give him a way to hide some more. "He'll let you in eventually, Jen. He loves you. I think he's just so messed that he doesn't know what to do. Hence leaving with Kort."

"Kort took advantage of him," Jenny said.

"Yeah. Kort banked on him being messed up and unable to see clearly. It worked," Gibbs said.

"I don't think I'll ever understand how none of us knew how screwed up he was. I know I still can't understand how I didn't know who he was," Jenny said.

"You gotta let that go, Jen. People change in eighteen years, especially children. He was very young, still growing," Gibbs said.

"But still my family, still my brother's son, still the kid I watched grow up," Jenny said.

"Also the same kid you thought had died many years earlier. And before you start blaming yourself for that again, I would've thought the same thing and so would most others. You and Tim both need to accept that what happened was no one's fault but Acosta's and his men," Gibbs said. One big thing these two had in common was that they both seemed to blame themselves for things that weren't their fault. That had to stop. It only gave Acosta more power.

"Tell me, Jethro, have you ever stopped blaming yourself for what happened to your family?" Jenny asked. As soon as the words were out, she regretted them. "That wasn't fair."

"Sure it was, and accurate. I blamed myself for a long time, and, yeah, a part of me still does. Should've been there to protect them," Gibbs said with hurt laced in his voice.

"You couldn't have," Jenny said.

"Most of me knows that, but a small part wonders, the same way you do. Guess, I shouldn't be giving you advice I haven't taken," Gibbs said.

"You and I have more in common than I ever guessed or wanted. I have to admit that when I found out you had a family, I was hurt you never told. But I never told you about my pain, so why should you have told me about yours?" Jenny asked.

"Don't tell anyone that I don't have to. I specifically never wanted you to know. Didn't want pity," Gibbs said. He couldn't have standed pity from Jenny. He hated it in general, but he would've hated it even more from someone he loved so much.

"I wouldn't have pitied you. I would've been sorry and I would've emphasized somewhat," Jenny said.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, I can emphasize with you as well, but I think I can with Tim more than anyone. Hell, after hearing his story, I think I was luckier, and I didn't know that was possible. He was a child and he watched as his whole family was destroyed. He watched them suffer at that bastard's hands until they wanted to die. I lost my family, but I didn't see it and I can at least tell myself that they went quick. I'll thankfully never know if I'm wrong."

"I hate what he saw and what he went through. You know, he's so damaged by it that he wishes he was dead. He's said that more than once and it kills me. I don't think he'll hurt himself, but he would welcome dying if it came to him," Jenny said with a shudder.

"Been there," Gibbs said.

"Even if he does let me in finally and heals some from what he's been through, I don't think he'll ever really get over it all," Jenny said sadly.

Gibbs said nothing, not wanting to tell her that she was right. Maybe one day Tim would be better than he was now. He might stop hiding and he might stop wishing for his own dead, but he would never be free of his pain. He would never be who he once was.


	36. Chapter 36

Tim opened the front door to find Fornell there. He immediately groaned. "What do you want? I don't have anything else to tell you about that night."

"I'm not here to get answers from you. I know you told us all you know. I'm here to give you some," Fornell said.

Tim pulled his chair back to let Fornell in. "What answers could you have for me?"

Fornell walked inside and shut the door behind him. "Where is Director Shepard. She'll probably want to hear this."

"Not home. She had a few errands to run," Tim said.

Fornell nodded. "Well, first, I thought you deserved a head's up. We've kept this as quiet as possible for as long as we can, but your story is about to be leaked. I'd say it'll be maybe a day or two."

Tim sighed unhappily. He knew it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier. His entire life story was about to be known by the whole country. He'd probably be hounded by reporters. "Alright, thanks for telling me."

"Agent Grant and I have been investigating, trying to find the other people involved with what happened to you," Fornell said.

"Have you?" Tim asked.

"A few. Only two are still alive. One is already on death row in Arizona. Another is severing substantial time not far from here. He's confessed, so that will be upped to a life sentence," Fornell said.

"Who are they?" Tim asked. He wanted names. He wanted to exactly who had helped to ruin his life and take the people he loved away. The death row piece of garbage is a man named William Carver. He's due to be executed for something similar within the year. The other one is Lucas Martinez. He actually helped Gibbs and your aunt find you. This won't mean much to you, but he did confess and has shown remorse for what happened.

"You're right, it means next to nothing to me," Tim said coldly. He didn't care how guilty the piece of crap felt. That wouldn't bring back his family or erase the images that replayed at least once a day for the last eighteen years.

"He'll never get out of prison, McGee. I can promise you that," Fornell said.

"Anything else?" Tim asked.

"A couple of other names, but they're dead now. You should just try not to even think about these people anymore," Fornell said.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "You tell me that after watching your family get brutally murdered and then you get tortured by their killer twice."

Fornell cringed. The kid was right. He really had no room to give advice here. He had no idea what the younger man lived through and he was glad for that. He didn't think he could live through it. He honestly used to think McGee wasn't much of an agent. He just didn't think the kid could do much more than work with a computer, but now he knew he was wrong. McGee had gone through all nine levels of hell and lived. That took a lot of strength. "You're right. I should go."

"Thanks, Fornell," Tim said.

Fornell nodded and walked out the door

Tim pushed his chair into the living room and grabbed the cordless phone from the end table. His cell was upstairs and it was too much trouble to go get it. He dialed a number and brought the phone to his ear. "Hey, Tony, it's me. I need a favor."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"This is a really bad idea, McGee," Tony said for like the billionth time since he learned what his friend wanted from him.

"Yeah, you've said," Tim said as he pushed his chair down an unfamiliar hallway. "I don't agree. From what I've been told, he doesn't wanna hurt me. Besides, there will be a guard outside."

"I'm not worried about what he'll do to you physically. Seeing him could mess you up, man," Tony said.

"He can't mess me up anymore than he already has. That is a feat that is just not possible," Tim said as they came to a door with a guard outside.

"Agents McGee and DiNozzo," Tony said as he flashed his badge to the guard.

The guard nodded. "You can go in."

"Wait here," Tim told his friend.

"Oh, hell no, Probie. I don't think this is a good idea at all, let alone by yourself," Tony said.

"I need to do this by myself," Tim said. That was why he'd chosen Tony as opposed to his aunt or Gibbs. If could've convinced them to bring him, he knew either of them would insist on going in with him.

"I don't see why you need to do this at all. The dude's nothing but a bastard. Why give him the satisfaction of seeing what he helped do to you?" Tony asked.

"Well, Fornell says he has remorse," Tim said.

"And that matters to you?" Tony asked in disbelief.

"No, not in the slightest. Look, I just need to see him. I need to remember what role he played and I need to know why. No, it probably won't change anything, but I still have to do it," Tim said.

Tony sighed. He didn't like it, but he'd probably do the same. "Okay," he said before holding the door open for his friend.

Tim pushed himself inside and found himself face to face with Lucas Martinez. He recognized him immediately, just as he expected to. He would recognize every face he saw that night. He didn't know names, but he knew faces.

Tim pushed his chair closer. "You know who I am?"

Martinez nodded. "They told me Timothy McGee, but I'd spoken with the FBI earlier this week, so I know Timothy McGee is really Jasper Shepard.

Tim leaned forward and grabbed the chair on the other side of the table and pushed it away before pushing his chair up to the table. "I didn't know you when they told me your name, but I do now. You were the one that plucked me from my bedroom and dragged me out to the living room in time to watch my entire family get brutally murdered.

Martinez looked away.

"Look at me, you son of a bitch!" Tim screamed. This guy didn't get to look away from him. He didn't get to pretend he wasn't there and wait for it to be over. "Because of you, I see my family's murders over and over again! You at least owe me your attention for a few minutes!"

Martinez looked back at him. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I regret more than that night."

"You're sorry? You didn't seem sorry when you were holding me by the neck, forcing me to watch my entire family die!" Tim growled.

"I didn't know that was going to happen! I knew he wanted your father dead, but I didn't know he intended to kill an entire family of four," Martinez said.

"Oh, so killing my father was fine, but not the rest of us. And how about when you knew what would happen? You could've helped us then!"

"No, I couldn't. I would've been killed too! Maybe even my family. Look, what I did to you is something that has haunted me and will continue to. I know you hate me. I don't blame you for that, but please know that I thought about you every day. I hate myself for what I did to you. I am sorry, Jasper," Martinez said.

Tim just sat there with a look of disgust on his face before finally speaking again. "You know, I didn't think your remorse did matter. I didn't think it mattered that you actually have a conscience, but it does. It makes you worse. Acosta was a sociopath. He didn't give a damn. You do. You have some kind of soul in you and you still didn't lift a finger to help us. That makes you ten times worse than he'll ever be."

"I am sorry for what happened to you."

"Rot in hell," Tim said before pushing himself back towards the door.


End file.
